The Stay Safe Online Blog

Many of us have seen COVID-related scams hit our inboxes in the past year. It's no secret that scammers try to take advantage of times of panic and uncertainty, when people are most vulnerable, to steal personal information.
Today, with the rapid development and distribution of COVID vaccines, many Americans are going online and sharing personal information to join waiting lists and book appointments before slots become filled. Scammers are altering their tactics to take advantage of this excitement. As we eagerly check our emails for vaccine updates and confirmations, it can be hard to tell the difference between a legitimate email and a phishing attempt. 

We’re all spending more time online; creating new accounts, accessing online tools for work or connecting with family and friends. Each one requiring a password. Taking control of your increasingly digital life starts with the proper password hygiene.

Women hold just 24% of the cybersecurity jobs worldwide. At Palo Alto Networks, we believe achieving our vision of a world where each day is safer and more secure than the one before requires an inclusive and diverse workforce.

March is Women’s History Month, a time to celebrate the lives and legacies of women through history. All month long, NCSA is spotlighting inspiring leaders in cybersecurity, starting within our organization.

The coronavirus pandemic threw working lives into disarray, but we cannot afford to sacrifice security for convenience.

New laws, expectations and COVID impact the flow of data: but keeping it safe is more important than ever.

A whirlwind romance and being swept off your feet by the perfect partner form the basis of many Hollywood romantic movie scripts. And as many of us are romantics at heart, the desire to believe it’s a possible scenario is burnt into our very being. In the harsh reality of life, though, scammers play on these emotions and use that desire to take cash fraudulently and destroy dreams. Romance scammers, with fake profiles and identities, strike up relationships with their potential victims on popular dating apps and through social media sites like Instagram and Facebook. They create elaborate stories of being in international business, working offshore with oil companies, actively serving in the military or even as an aid worker or doctor doing great things within impoverished communities. One thing for certain is they are not close by or in a position to meet.

On Thursday, January 28, the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) celebrated its annual Data Privacy Day event. We were joined by over 1,500 organizations and individuals from around the globe in an effort to generate awareness about the importance of data privacy and highlight ways to safeguard personal information.

This year, to kick off Black History Month, we want to shed light on some very important issues in our national community, as well as the cyber security community. It is critical to recognize that as minority communities make up more and more of the US population, the statistics for Black faces in Tech and InfoSec remain low.

There are two opposing truths at the top-of-mind for chief information officers across the world:
1. Customers want personalized, customized experiences to fit their in-the-moment needs.
2. Society at large is becoming more and more wary of companies tracking, mining, and, in the case of some companies, monetizing their data.