Tag: family | Page 3

U.S. Navy officer celebrates new rank with friends, family

December 27, 2022/in Internet Security

A Jefferson City native was pinned with a new U.S. Navy rank during a close-knit ceremony Monday at the Capitol.

About 30 people packed into Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe’s office to watch as Alan Carl Mengwasser was pinned with the captain’s rank.

Surrounded by friends and family, Mengwasser, 48, dispensed with a lot of the formality associated with commissioning ceremonies.

After a brief prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance and a story about joining the Navy, Mengwasser’s wife and daughters added the brass to his uniform.

“You may salute,” he teased attending friends and family, who replied with resounding applause.

“It’s just fun to do it here, rather than back on the base in Maryland,” Mengwasser told the News Tribune. “My friends there would do it, but it’s just too hard to get the home crowd out there.”

Monday was the first time most of Mengwasser’s family, besides his wife and three children, had seen him get pinned throughout his 26-year naval career. Mengwasser said only his parents attended basic training graduation and officer candidate school graduation.

After learning in September he would be eligible for a promotion Dec. 15, he saw an opportunity to add to his usual visit home for the holidays.

“Considering they haven’t been able to attend any previous promotions, it’s just a great opportunity that we could celebrate this together,” he said.

In addition to family, several of Mengwasser’s high school friends were present for the ceremony.

State Rep. Dave Griffith, R-Jefferson City, helped organize the ceremony in Kehoe’s office. The lieutenant governor was not on hand but approved the use of his office as the rest of the Capitol was closed for the observed holiday.

“It’s the perfect setting for it, and it’s just really a special time, especially this time of year, to be able to recognize some of the unique accomplishments that we have right here in Jeff City,” Griffith said, adding he’s known the family for years.

Mengwasser has worked on Navy submarines and ships and was deployed to Afghanistan in the past. For the past 12 years, he’s been involved in the cyber warfare arena.

Stationed out of Fort Meade in Maryland, Mengwasser is a cryptologic warfare officer focused on cyber security and…

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Consumer Connection: Discussing Scams and Fraud with Your Family Members over the Holidays | Lifestyle

December 10, 2022/in Computer Security

This holiday season, Iowans will gather with loved ones making it a great time for discussions about financial fraud to help prevent those you care about from becoming victims. The Iowa Insurance Division’s Iowa Fraud Fighters program focuses on fraud against elder Iowans, but younger Iowans are also falling victim to scams at a higher rate than ever before. Fraud prevention firm SEON analyzed data collected in 2020 by the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) and found fraud complaints from consumers under the age of 20 had the largest increase in 2019 and 2020. Victims under 20 had collective losses of approximately $3,000 per person. The report also found that the older the victim, the more money they lost. This finding may be due to older Americans having more assets than our younger consumers. Fraudsters do not discriminate when it comes to age.

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East West Family of Companies Announces Data Breach Involving Sensitive Employee Information | Console and Associates, P.C.

July 7, 2022/in Computer Security

Recently, East West Family of Companies (“East West”) confirmed that the company experienced a data breach after an unauthorized party gained access to sensitive consumer information stores on the company’s computer network. According to the East West, the breach resulted in the names and Social Security numbers of certain employees and employee dependents being compromised. On July 1, 2022, East West filed official notice of the breach and sent out data breach letters to all affected parties.

If you received a data breach notification, it is essential you understand what is at risk and what you can do about it. To learn more about how to protect yourself from becoming a victim of fraud or identity theft and what your legal options are in the wake of the East West data breach, please see our recent piece on the topic here.

What We Know About the East West Data Breach

According to an official notice filed by the company, on November 8, 2021, East West detected unauthorized access on some of its computer systems. In response, the company secured its systems and launched an investigation into the incident with the assistance of third-party cybersecurity professionals. Shortly after the breach, East West was able to restore its system operations; however, the investigation determined that an unauthorized user was able to access certain files on the company’s network between November 5, 2021 and November 8, 2021. These files contained the information of current and former employees and employees’ dependents.

Upon discovering that sensitive employee data was accessible to an unauthorized party, East West then reviewed the affected files to determine exactly what information was compromised. The company completed this review on May 9, 2022. While the breached information varies depending on the individual, it may include your name and Social Security number.

On July 1, 2022, East West sent out data breach letters to all individuals whose information was compromised as a result of the recent data security incident.