Tag Archive for: personal

The ‘Riskiest’ iPhone Apps Security Experts Say You Should Delete To Protect Your Personal Data Include Antivirus & Unknown VPN Apps

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woman-holding-iphone

woman-holding-iphone

You can download some apps, keep them on your phone for a lifetime, and they’ll only ever offer you joy and never cause you trouble. Unfortunately, that’s not the case with all apps. Being mindful and careful about the apps that you download is one wise way to protect your data and privacy against hacking attempts and other issues. But it’s also a good idea to periodically go through the apps you have downloaded and decide which should stay and which you can afford to part with. Doing this can help you manage your storage better and may even help your battery power. Tech Expert Sufyan Mughal from Gaming Tech Review considers these the “riskiest” iPhone apps that you should delete to protect your personal data. 

App: Unverified Third-Party App Stores

Risk: Unverified third-party app stores pose a significant security risk as they often distribute modified or pirated versions of legitimate apps, Mughal says. “These apps may contain malware, spyware, or malicious code that can compromise your iPhone’s security,” he continues. “To make it less risky, it is strongly advised to uninstall unverified third-party app stores and rely solely on the official App Store for downloading apps. Apple’s strict app review process ensures that apps available on the App Store are thoroughly vetted for security and privacy concerns.”

App: Outdated and Abandoned Apps

Risk: Outdated and abandoned apps that are no longer supported by their developers are potential security vulnerabilities.

 

“These apps may contain unpatched security flaws, making them an attractive target for attackers looking to exploit known vulnerabilities,” Mughal says. “To mitigate this risk, regularly review the apps installed on your iPhone. If you come across outdated or unsupported apps, consider deleting them. Developers typically release updates to address security issues, so it’s crucial to keep your apps up to date by installing updates from the App Store.”

 

App: Suspicious or Unknown VPN Apps

Risk: Suspicious or unknown VPN (Virtual Private Network) apps can compromise your privacy and security. “Some VPN apps may harvest your personal data, inject ads, or…

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Econsult suffers ransomware attack, exposing personal data

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Econsult Solutions, an economic analysis and consulting company whose clients include the City of Philadelphia, Pew Charitable Trusts, and other major institutions in the region, has reportedly suffered a data breach that exposed employees’ financial information to hackers. 

According to internal messages shared with Billy Penn, the company’s data is being held for ransom. 

Current Econsult employees appear to have received an email from management about an “IT incident” that exposed the company’s data, including some workers’ 2022 W-2, with their social security number included, per the email.

It’s currently unclear whether data generated through the company’s many partnerships — including with city and state government — has been exposed in the ransomware attack. 

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How security pros use TikTok without handing over personal data to China

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I’ve been saying it for months: Get TikTok off your phone.

It’s not the only China-based app you need to worry about. Temu, the app that lets you “shop like a billionaire,” isn’t worth the deals. Here’s why — and what to do if you’ve been using it.

That’s not all. Here’s a list of dangerous apps you need to delete ASAP.

If you still want to use TikTok, you can without handing over all your information to communist China.

Why not just use the app?

Plain and simple, TikTok is a national security threat. The Chinese-owned social media platform’s parent company ByteDance is based in Beijing and is required by Chinese law to give the government access to collected data. 

TikTok collects data that includes search and browsing history, facial ID, voice prints, texts, location, and photos. 

Though government agencies and even the entire state of Montana have banned the social media app, it’s still incredibly popular — used by about two-thirds of teens in the U.S.

TikTok

A TikTok logo is displayed on a smartphone in this illustration taken on Jan. 6, 2020.  (REUTERS/Dado Ruvic)

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What are your options?

Browsing TikTok on the web won’t cut it. There’s still a significant amount of tracking. 

Your best buy is buying a low-cost smartphone, sometimes called a burner phone. You don’t need anything fancy since this is just for social media. A super basic cheap Android phone works just fine.

Turn on the phone and set it up, but here’s the trick: Don’t link it to any of your primary accounts. 

Start fresh

Do not log into your Google account, Apple ID, company email, personal email, or anything else. Certainly, don’t give it access to any sensitive personal or financial information.

Create a new email account just for this phone — and your TikTok account. That way, even if TikTok (or any other app) collects data from your device, it won’t be tied to your actual personal information.

Of course, this phone still has a connection to you. Be careful what you share with the app or in your posts.

You can connect the burner phone to your home’s Wi-Fi, so you don’t need to…

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Personal Information of 9 Million Individuals Stolen in MCNA Ransomware Attack

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Dental benefits manager MCNA has started sending notification letters to roughly nine million individuals to inform them that their personal information might have been compromised in a data breach earlier this year.

Operating under the MCNA Insurance Company and Managed Care of North America brands, MCNA is one of the largest dental benefits managers in the US, serving more than 5 million children and adults through its programs.

The data breach, which occurred between February 26 and March 7, impacted both current and former members of certain state Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Programs, the company says in the notification letter, a copy of which was submitted to the Maine Attorney General’s Office.

During the incident, an unauthorized party accessed multiple systems within MCNA’s network, infected them with malware, and stole personal information stored on them.

The investigation into the attack revealed that the compromised personal information may include names, addresses, phone numbers, birth dates, Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, ID numbers, health insurance information, and information related to dental/orthodontic care.

The amount of exposed personal information, the company says, may differ from individual to individual.

While MCNA did not say what type of malware was installed on its systems, the attack was claimed by the LockBit ransomware group in March. Last month, the group published on its leak site roughly 700 gigabytes of data allegedly stolen from the company.

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MCNA claims that it is not aware of the stolen information being misused, but it appears that other threat actors may already have the data, meaning that the impacted individuals may be targeted in phishing, identity theft, fraud, and other types of attacks.

To soften the blow, MCNA is offering free credit monitoring services to the impacted individuals, encouraging them to stay alert on possible fraud attempts.

MCNA told the Maine Attorney General that more than 8.9 million individuals were impacted by the data breach.

Related: Apria Healthcare Notifying 2 Million People of Years-Old Data Breaches

Related: PharMerica…

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