Corporate hacks are an unfortunate reality in today's technological climate. Whether these breaches in security are small or large (like last year's Equifax debacle that affected approximately 145.5 million people), they pose a risk to everyone - assuming you haven't sworn off the internet.
While you cannot prevent these attacks, there are certain measures you can take to redeem the situation. First, you can confirm if you've been directly impacted. For bigger breaches, companies will often set up a website dedicated to crosschecking your information against impacted accounts.
You can also check a handy site called HaveIBeenPwned in which you enter your email account and see if your account has been hacked. Not only can you see if you've been impacted, but you can also check the specific type of information that may have been exposed.
It's also a good idea to change your passwords if you information was caught up in a breach; not just for whichever company or service leaked them, but also anywhere else you might use it.
As you can see, there are certain steps you can (and should) take to avoid having your accounts taken over or, worse, having your identity stolen. As they say, a little vigilance goes a long way!
Check out the video in the article below to learn more.
At this point, it's safe to assume that everyone's been affected by one megabreach or another. But when the next Equifax debacle happens, know that there's plenty you can do to help dampen the fallout. When a big company that has your personal information—like passwords or credit card numbers—gets hacked, it means, in a way, that you got hacked too. At the very least, it means some of your most sensitive information out there in the ether, just waiting for a hacker or identity thief to make your life miserable.