Privacy advice has changed quite a bit over the last decade. In this episode of Privacy Files , Colin from the Anonyome Labs Security and Compliance team returns to the show to discuss how privacy has evolved. As a foundation for the discussion, we review an article published ten years ago on the Art of Manliness website titled Going Undercover: How to Protect Your Privacy Online . As usual, we address a wide variety of privacy-related topics. From passwords and 2FA to public WiFi and the danger...
Nov 02, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 89
From disaster planning to wilderness survival to personal safety, they all share one common theme: the people who engage in these activities value privacy. In this episode of Privacy Files , Kevin Estela talks about how his training in survival and bushcraft have taught him why privacy is so important. Kevin is one of the preeminent experts on the topic of wilderness survival and bushcraft skills. He has consulted for the History Channel, written more than 100 articles and spent nearly two years...
Oct 31, 2024•48 min•Ep. 88
The recent revelation by UnitedHealth Group that the ransomware attack on its subsidiary Change Healthcare exposed the sensitive data of more than 100 million customers is once again bringing scrutiny to how companies manage personal information. In this episode of Privacy Files , we talk to seasoned privacy professional, Saima Fancy. Saima is a Senior Privacy Specialist at Ontario Health in Canada. During the interview, she explains how her approach to "privacy by design" involves working at th...
Oct 26, 2024•36 min•Ep. 87
The arrest of Telegram Co-Founder and CEO Pavel Durov in France has shocked many around the world. Privacy advocates are wondering if this event signals a change in how Western governments will start treating encrypted communications apps. If corporate executives can be held criminally accountable for crimes committed and/or organized on their apps, how far does this go? Who might be next? In this episode of Privacy Files , we formed a panel to discuss the significance of Durov's arrest and what...
Oct 19, 2024•54 min•Ep. 86
From cybercrime to fraud, the industry of organized crime is big business. Globally, it's measured in the trillions of dollars. In this episode of Privacy Files , we talk to a former FBI agent who spent his entire career working to put organized criminals behind bars. Inspired by his father's 38-year career with the NYPD, Ken Strange helped the American government combat terrorism, the cartels and global fraud. He summed up his heroic adventures in the book A Cop's Son: One G-Man's Fight Against...
Oct 11, 2024•51 min•Ep. 85
Creating a safer and more secure internet involves a proactive effort on the part of three main actors: corporations, individuals and governments. In this episode of Privacy Files , we talk to someone who is playing a key role in facilitating forward progress with two of those actors: corporations and individuals. Paige Hanson is the Co-Founder at SecureLabs, a company that helps organizations negotiate the difficult landscape of governance, risk and compliance (GRC). She also regularly speaks o...
Oct 05, 2024•40 min•Ep. 84
One of the goals of this podcast is to help people better understand their risk exposure when it comes to their digital footprint. Back in January of this year, JPMorgan Asset & Wealth Management CEO Mary Erdoes took the stage at Davos and revealed that JPMorgan Chase & Co. is subjected to 45 billion hacking attempts every single day. And perhaps more disturbing is that number is double what it was in 2023. In this episode of Privacy Files , we talk to Purandar Das, the CEO and Founder o...
Sep 26, 2024•35 min•Ep. 83
Probably to no one's surprise, there are lots of people out there who want to steal others' money--yours, mine and that of companies. What's helpful is understanding what to look out for to avoid becoming the victim and what you can do to make yourself a less likely target. In this episode of Privacy Files , we talk to Greg Taylor, a certified fraud examiner and author of the book People Want to Steal Your Money . Greg is the Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at Corp...
Sep 13, 2024•43 min•Ep. 82
Fraud is big business. We're talking well over $10 billion annually in the United States alone. And the role that online fraud is playing is growing rapidly. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) Internet Crime Complaint Center, Americans have lost $1.6 billion from January to May of 2024. That's nearly $300 million more than from this same period of time in 2023. For businesses to excel in the digital space, they must implement robust fraud prevention measures tha...
Aug 29, 2024•33 min•Ep. 81
Today, there are more mobile phones in existence than people on earth. That's billions and billions of personal electronic devices of which virtually all likely include at least one camera. Thirty years ago, taking pictures was an involved process that included dropping off film at a processing lab, where you could pick up the developed photos a few days later. Nowadays, snapping a picture doesn't cost anything and the reward is instantaneous. However, this modern convenience comes with ...
Aug 24, 2024•36 min•Ep. 80
Every so often it's helpful to get back to the basics when it comes to protecting individual privacy. In light of the recent major data breach, potentially exposing the social security numbers of every American, we're revisiting the core elements of the "privacy problem." In this episode of Privacy Files , we speak with entrepreneur and software developer Bert Hubert. Bert has a decorated 30-plus-year career working in a variety of industries including: cybersecurity, telecommu...
Aug 16, 2024•42 min•Ep. 79
Since launching this podcast, we've covered a wide variety of privacy issues. But one topic we haven't addressed is the concept of "mental privacy." In this episode of Privacy Files , we talk to Dr. Nita Farahany about how advancements in neurotechnology are threatening to infringe on cognitive liberty. Dr. Farahany is a professor of law and philosophy at Duke University and the author of the book The Battle for your Brain: Defending the Right to Think Freely in the Age of Neur...
Aug 10, 2024•41 min•Ep. 78
In this episode of Privacy Files we explore a cybersecurity topic that is so obscure that according to our guest, 9 out of every 10 security professionals don't even know they're supposed to be managing it. If you've never heard about "secrets", you're not alone. We hope this interview sheds light on an extremely critical aspect of cybersecurity that can mean the difference between keeping your personal data safe and losing it to another breach. Brian Vallelunga is the ...
Jul 29, 2024•31 min•Ep. 77
The first step in someone's privacy journey is simply understanding the problem in the first place. Every time you share your personal information with companies, whether online or offline, that data often times ends up in the hands of third parties. In this episode we sit down with Jo, a member of Anonyome Labs' product team, to discuss Reclaim, Anonyome's newest product. Reclaim helps you identify companies that have your personal data, including those that have been breached. Then...
Jul 17, 2024•37 min•Ep. 76
There are approximately two million nonprofit organizations operating in the United States alone, accounting for one out of every ten private-sector workers. It's an industry that's literally measured in the trillions of dollars. Yet when it comes to business operations, due to shoestring budgets, many nonprofits run their entire operations using software like Google Workspace or similar low-cost (or free) tools. And they typically don't employ any IT staff. This leaves nonprofits ex...
Jun 26, 2024•36 min•Ep. 75
Cryptocurrency has made many people very wealthy. There are more than 88,000 millionaires who got rich through crypto investing. In fact, there are even 17 "crypto billionaires." But for every person who makes it big in the world of cryptocurrency, there are many times more who either never grow their investment or who lose money. In this episode of Privacy Files , Brian Tillman returns to the studio to help Rich make sense of the extremely complex environment of cryptocurrency. Brian ...
Jun 08, 2024•48 min•Ep. 74
According to the United States Federal Trade Commission, Americans lost $10 billion to fraud in 2023 alone. In that same year, Americans were defrauded $4.6 billion via investment scams. In this episode of Privacy Files , we talk to Val Harkless, a government contractor who assists with fraud and analysis for the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) Division of Enforcement. She works tirelessly to uncover a variety of crimes, including insider trading, pump and dumps, Ponzi schemes, un...
May 30, 2024•38 min•Ep. 73
In the United States, fraud and identity theft together result in tens of billions of dollars in losses annually. Contributing to this growing problem is the continued use of usernames and passwords stored in giant, centralized databases owned by large companies. These databases are often the target of hacking attacks. And this stolen data finds its way into marketplaces on the dark web. The good news is, there's a better way and it's being put to the test now. In this episode of Privacy...
May 17, 2024•54 min•Ep. 72
When it comes to data privacy, the legal and regulatory environment is changing faster than ever. While in the United States, no federal privacy law exists, there's a growing sentiment from those who are watching closely that things are about to change. In this episode of Privacy Files , we talk to privacy law attorney Alan Chapell. Alan is the Founder of Chapell & Associates, a legal consulting firm that helps digital media companies navigate the challenges associated with regulations, ...
May 04, 2024•37 min•Ep. 71
Ever since the release of OpenAI's ChatGPT in November 2022, artificial intelligence (AI) has dominated the news. AI is bringing a level of realism and human-like behavior to technology that just two years ago would have been considered unthinkable. But AI is also introducing new data privacy concerns. In this episode of Privacy Files , we examine the rising phenomenon of romantic AI chatbots and what these applications are doing with your personal data. Colin from Anonyome Lab's Securit...
May 01, 2024•50 min•Ep. 70
On this show, we have talked quite a bit about the red hot cybersecurity industry. Companies can't fill open positions fast enough. Globally, cybersecurity spending exceeds $200 billion. But there's a small problem. You might call it a cybersecurity paradox. Despite companies spending more than ever on cybersecurity, companies are also losing data more than ever. In this episode of Privacy Files , we talk to Richard Hollis, a 35-year veteran of the cybersecurity industry. Richard works a...
Apr 20, 2024•45 min•Ep. 69
The rapid rise of artificial intelligence (AI) is bringing great promise to the world in the form of increased productivity and a better quality of life. However, as with any new technology, there are people who look to leverage it for nefarious purposes. Deepfakes are seemingly everywhere now. And while some are being used for humor or general entertainment, many deepfakes are being used to inflict harm. In this episode of Privacy Files , we welcome Anonyome Labs CFO Naomi Rule to the studio to...
Apr 12, 2024•44 min•Ep. 68
Web3, or Web 3.0, is a new vision for the World Wide Web where the user is in control. While Web3 has been called many things, there's no doubt that its architecture enables for the democratization of the web. The key concepts of Web3 include decentralization, blockchain technologies and token-based economies. While the pervasiveness of fraud in cryptocurrency has tarnished the image of Web3, decentralization continues to be the greatest promise emanating from the emerging technologies of th...
Apr 09, 2024•34 min•Ep. 67
With large data breaches making headline news nearly every week, cybersecurity is a hot topic. Recently, AT&T discovered the personal information of more than 70 million current and former customers being sold on the Dark Web. Compounding this is the fact that it takes on average nearly seven months for a corporate security and compliance team to even identity that a data breach occurred in the first place. With the average cost of a data breach in the United States hitting $10 million per i...
Apr 04, 2024•37 min•Ep. 66
According to a recent study at the University of Texas at Austin, from January 2020 to February 2024, people lost more than $75 billion around the world to the scam of pig butchering. Named after the practice of farmers fattening hogs before slaughter, victims are lured into fake crypto investments. Once victims send enough funds, the scammers disappear. Hence, the pig is slaughtered. Victims routinely lose hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars. And each story often begins as an onli...
Mar 29, 2024•41 min•Ep. 65
In 2023, Americans lost more than $10 billion to fraud. This is the largest annual loss in US history. In terms of dollars lost, investment scams emptied consumers' bank accounts more than any other scam at $4.6 billion. But a close second was imposter scams at $2.7 billion. In this episode of Privacy Files , we look at the tragic story of former New York Times journalist Charlotte Cowles. On Halloween of 2023, Charlotte became the victim of a very elaborate imposter scam that cost her $50,0...
Mar 26, 2024•58 min•Ep. 64
The demand for cybersecurity professionals is strong. Job vacancies in the industry grew from one million in 2013 to 3.5 million in 2021. And because of this shortfall in talent, companies are struggling to keep up with the latest in modern threat awareness, including phishing, social engineering, Business Email Compromise (BEC), and financial fraud. Many corporate security and compliance teams feel that their company's apps, data, devices, infrastructure, and people are vulnerable. While th...
Mar 20, 2024•40 min•Ep. 63
In 2015, Dr. Robert Epstein, a psychologist at the American Institute for Behavioral Research and Technology, made world news. Dr. Epstein was one of the authors of a groundbreaking study that found that Google's search ranking algorithm could influence how people vote. Even more shocking, according to Dr. Epstein, "We estimate, based on win margins in national elections around the world, that Google could determine the outcome of upwards of 25 percent of all national elections." A...
Mar 14, 2024•38 min•Ep. 62
In 2023, it is estimated that $3.1 trillion in illicit funds moved through the global financial system. Financial crimes can take many forms. Money laundering accounted for trillions of dollars supporting a wide range of crimes, including $346.7 billion in human trafficking, $782.9 billion in drug trafficking activity, and $11.5 billion in terrorist financing. In 2023, fraud scams and bank fraud schemes reached $485.6 billion in total losses. In this episode of Privacy Files , we welcome back To...
Mar 08, 2024•1 hr•Ep. 61
According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in the United States, consumers reported losing more than $10 billion to fraud in 2023. This is a 14% increase over reported losses in 2022. Some of the most common scams include investment scams, imposter scams, bank transfer scams and cryptocurrency scams. "Digital tools are making it easier than ever to target hard-working Americans,” said Samuel Levine, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. Fraud is more prevalent today than...
Mar 02, 2024•43 min•Ep. 60
