Canadian companies not so ready to protect your data, suggests a survey; watch for a new Google Chrome browser update and a new variation on an old ransomware discovered
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Canadian companies hold a lot of personal data on customers. Do they do a good job of protecting it? Maybe, according to a survey of business leaders by the federal privacy commissioner. Just over two-thirds of respondents said their company gives a high importance to protecting the personal information of their customers. That’s right. Not ninety per cent, as one might hope. And, get this: Only forty per cent of firms said they do have policies in case there is a theft of customer personal information. Just over half of respondents said their company does NOT have any breach response procedures. Finally, nearly one-quarter of respondents said they are extremely concerned about a possible data breach involving customer information. On the other hand 36 per cent said they were NOT concerned at all.
Federal privacy commissioner Daniel Therrien is worried, saying the low level of concern about the possibility of a data breach is surprising given the significant number of major breaches we see occurring.
For my detailed story on the survey and comment from experts, click here.
This week Google updated its Chrome browser, patching 34 bugs. One important fix protects against an exploit of the processor bug called Spectre. The update will be available for Windows, Mac and Linux platforms, so watch for it. A signal will appear in the upper right corner of the browser.
Got a pen? On Wednesday I told you about a warning that certain home and small business routers may be infected with a bug. There’s a complex but proper way to reset your device if yours is on the list. Find it at the SANS Institute’s blog at ISC.SANS.EDU.
Finally, a new variant of the Cryptomix ransomware has been discovered. There are little tweaks, but unfortunately, at this time researchers haven’t found a way to decrypt it for free. So remember, the best protection against ransomware is to backup your data. How often depends on how much new data – and pictures – you add to your computer. Don’t keep the backup always attached to your computer, because it could get infected as well as your main hard drive. Attachments are the prime way to get infected by ransomware. Be careful before you open them. Don’t assume that a message with an attachment really is from your boss, your partner, your uncle or best friend.
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