Ransomware

This is an example of ransomware from wired.com. This is not the Department of Justice as the screen might indicate, but rather some blackhat who has infiltrated your system and is looking for a easy cash grab.

Imagine turning on your computer and discovering all of your keys are locked, except a couple of open boxes on a screen, telling you that before you can get access again, you must pay a fine.

This is what happened to the Los Angeles Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center. The entire network was shut down and access would only be granted if they paid a ransom of $3.6 million.

You can see how ransomware has the potential to wreak havoc for anyone whose livelihood relies on a computer. It's a malware that encrypts files and requires a key to unlock. It can come into a network through a simple file attachment in an email.

Do not respond to the demands of these cyber hacks. First check out reputable sites, like your Google FAQs, PC World, and perhaps first: your antivirus company, such as Vipre, Norton, or McAfee, to see what types of patches they have to remove this Trojan horse.

Most viruses hold your devices hostage but ransomware ups the ante with a payment demand. Now, just like a real-life kidnapping, paying the ransom doesn't mean the hacker will release your computer.

The best prevention is to play safe online. Top up your protection software and make sure it's current. Look at the link of a website before you click it to make sure it matches what you're expecting. For example, if you receive an email from Amazon advertising a product that interests you, when you mouse over the link in the email, you can see what link highlights before you click in most cases. But to be safe, go to the top of the browser and log directly into the account and search for the product. Don't open unexpected attachments unless there is an explanation from a known sender or if the email looks suspicious (even from a known sender.) Ask the known sender if they sent you a file out of the blue. When in doubt, don't open the attachment.

Business Owners and Suicide Compounded by Cyberbullies: The Unknown Statistic

North Americans are swallowed in personal debt. This is true for many businesses.

The business cycle can be unforgiving when you're an entrepreneur. An accident, illness, death, bad employee, and a weak economy all wreak havoc on those who are barely hanging on by a thread.

Running a business isn't for the faint of heart. It does take long hours and sacrifices to get anything off the ground. Even the most sound business mind can falter on a decision that sends one's finances out of control. If there are employees counting on the job to feed their families, that adds to the pressure to make things work.

As confident as one might look on the outside, the psyche of an entrepreneurs can be quite fragile. Sprinkle in a cyberbully and in some instances, it's enough to send a business owner over the edge.

Canadian household debt is 163.3% of disposable income. Canada has the highest debt to income ration in the G7 countries. 

Over 1 in 3 Americans are nearing or experience financial disaster. Overwhelming debt and lousy incomes make many people easy targets for creditors, who use the Internet as a tool to shame them and compound their ability to get back on their feet. This is a CRIME. There are laws on the books in both Canada and the United States that address collection laws and what creditors can and cannot do. 



Know your rights. Here is a guidebook on how to fight back.   

Monica Lewinsky Is Patient Zero From Adult Cyberbullying

"Imagine walking a mile in someone else's headlines."

For over 20 years, Monica Lewinsky has been branded worldwide by Internet "stone throwers." That is what she calls those who continually and relentlessly publicly humiliate her about something that happened when she was 22. A lot of us have done what she did. Only for the rest of us, it may not have been plastered throughout the 24-hour news cycle or joked about on every television comedy hour and stand-up routine.

At age 25/26, I had an affair with my married boss that lasted over a year. I was fresh out of a divorce, in a new job and city, and was about a year into my singlehood. Unlike Lewinsky, I don't think I was in love with him. I might have been 22, when I married the first man I met after a volatile courtship that became only more capricious after the ceremony. I sewed my oats, big time, once the Decree Absolute was served. I was unabashedly brazen for at least 20 years.

When you look at Lewinsky's story in context, now that you know better and are not being influenced by the late-night comics and the pundit news media that gets its advertising dollars from piling on someone's misfortune and shame, you see just how tragic it is.

I remember when her nightmare started. It didn't sit right with me that it was her so-called friend, a confidant, who secretly recorded their private conversations and shared them with the world. I needed a shower after just hearing that. There can be no greater betrayal. I'm fortunate that a lot of my escapades were done before the Internet. However, who knows if someone had some sort of recording device or secret pictures that are now circulating on the deep web.

A lot of people can relate to Lewinsky's Internet experience. Just ask anyone who has been cyberbullied, who have had their personal reputation disparaged by a dedicated web page or had their private moments and words shared publicly without permission and without context.

Kudos to Lewinsky for finding her voice. She has become my personal hero as a result. Her message is clear and echos what I have been working on for the past couple of years: clean up the Internet one post at a time. How you do that is a) post positively and b) report bullying.

http://www.ted.com/talks/monica_lewinsky_the_price_of_shame

If I Say I Don't Like You Is It Bullying?

Disliking someone doesn't give you the license to be mean.

Cyberbullying behavior has less to do about how an individual feels about another and more about how they feel about themselves.

Even so, when someone pees in your Cornflakes, you don't have to eat out of that bowl.

Bakery Example of Business Cyberbullying

A bully wakes up one day and decides to rain toxin at a small business establishment that is only trying to make good cupcakes. The only thing this business did to trigger this abuse was exist.

The bully takes to the Internet, initiates posts, trolls feeds, and engages a campaign of hate against the business and its owner.

This is the face of business cyberbullying. Sometimes the cyberbully is known to the target. Other times, the actual face may be hidden behind an anonymous avatar.

In the case of the Sweet Ambrosia Bake Shoppe, the campaign of hate has been at least two years in the making.

Canada's New Cyberbullying Law

On March 9, 2015, a new law will come into affect that will give law enforcement more teeth to charge cyberbullies in Canada. Bill C-13's controversy is that it will also give the government more surveillance powers.

+Allan Oziel describes the law: it will be an offence to knowingly publish, distribute, transmit, sell, make available or advertise an “intimate image” of a person without that person’s consent, where there was a reasonable expectation of privacy.

Under the new law, an +iPredator can be forced to remove content and stay off the Internet AND have their devices confiscated. Offenders can receive up to five years imprisonment.

The law only applies to images broadcast on all forms of media, whether it be photograph, print, or video. So if, say a cloud server was hacked and private unpublished nude photographs were shared publicly and subsequently reshared, the individuals posting and resharing could be prosecuted under this law.

There does not appear to be a statute of limitations with this act as there are with the other cyberbullying crimes, which fall under libel, harassment, and collection laws.

Here is a legislative summary of C-13.

In order to prosecute under any law, important for businesses and individuals to document their bully's trail of toxin.

Celebrity Phonegate

Did she or didn't she?

After a volatile episode of The Celebrity Apprentice, the question on viewer's lips is: Did Kenya steal Vivica's phone?

To fill you in, there has been tension between the women from the get-go. Suspicion comes in when before the team hits the boardroom to learn their fate in episode six. Circumstantial evidence was broadcast by Kenya herself when she looked into the camera and boasted, "Little do they know I have some tricks up my sleeve."

Is this tweet also an admission of guilt?

Sure, this all makes for good television drama on one of network television's most popular show. But seriously? If your coworker stole your phone and hinted about it in a boast, then suddenly a derogatory tweet showed up as seemingly posted by you, wouldn't you call your lawyer?

Kenya may not have stolen Vivica's phone and perhaps it's just a strange coincidence. But if she did, there is a term for this type of behavior and it does also come in the form of a hack: cyberbullying.

It is a crime. It may not be named as such in your state, provincial, or federal legislation. It will be dressed up as theft, harassment, and defamation libel, but it is still a crime.

5 Tips to Manage Your Trolls

1.

Here are five steps to manage your Internet trolls:

1. Post a policy on all of your social media sites that you will not tolerate bullying, spammers, and abusive trolls that hijack your feeds. Warn them that their comments will be deleted and they may be blocked.

2. Set up notifications for the comments on your feeds so that you can address an abusive or spam post once it hits your social media.

3. Assess if the post is hateful, spam, or just an adverse opinion and warrants being deleted or kept.

4. Delete the post if it doesn't serve a meaningful discussion.

5. If the user shows up again to hijack your feed in the same way, take them out of your media. If you suspect they are not a real person (a phisher) or if they've been abusive in any way, then don't hesitate to block and report them.

#IllRideWithYou

Terrible tragedies can bring out the best in people.

A gunman held people hostage in a Sydney coffee shop, which resulted in the death of two innocents. Because of the perpetrator's cultural makeup, the event created an environment of anti-Muslim sentiment. To protect herself, a woman took off her hijab, but was told to put it back on because that person would walk with her. A simple gesture that became a viral movement.

Most of us who use common sense know that the actions of one person does not make a race or demographic. #IllRideWithYou celebrates the people who choose to turn tragedy into something positive.

When we collectively disregard the hate in lieu of love, WE decide how we want to live. We don't allow the bullies to reign. We don't even acknowledge them. Instead, we can make the world a better place, one gesture at a time.

‘It’s F–king Stolen’

Yes, Sony was hacked and it was bad. Do you want to know what is worse? The media publishing the material they received as a result of the hack.

Just because it is Hollywood and too good to pass up on learning the dirty little secrets behind closed doors, somehow it is okay for even the most trusted news sources to publish private emails and material for all to see because it involves A-list public figures.

Target and Home Depot were hacked, too. Did the media publish the social insurance numbers and internal communications from those executives? Will they do it if a bank or insurance company gets hacked? 

Seth Rogan is right. It stinks and with regards to the material being published: "It's F--king Stolen."

This is no different than publishing the hacked photos from the private files (that were not publicly shared by the subjects) of Jennifer Lawrence and other celebrities. It's slimy and if hacking is a crime, perhaps publishing hacked material is also a crime. 

Sony Takes A Bit of Heat Over Its Hacking Scandal

It hasn't been a good week for Sony Pictures Entertainment, especially for its upper management. Due to a serious hack, which may have been done months ago, intellectual property details and embarrassing emails have been leaked publicly.

Media outlets could be criticized for piling on and furthering the impact of the hack by publishing some of the more salacious details. If the hack didn't involve A-list entertainment, and instead the Coca-Cola or Chevron hierarchy, would the intimate details be released? Maybe. Maybe not.

Here are some of the numerous story links about the hack that have flooded my inbox:

Lisa Kudrow Rips Sony Execs Over Leaked Emails

Sony Hackers Leak New Data, Threaten 'Christmas Gift' To Put Studio In 'Worst State'

Amy Pascal on Whether She's So Damaged She Can No Longer Lead Sony

Sony Hackers Flash Disturbing New Warning on Staffers' Computers

Sony Employees' Medical Records Among Hacked Data

Sony Had Evidence of Server Hack in February According to New Leaked Emails

New Sony Hack Attack Theory Suggests North Korea Was Involved But Had Insider Help

No Interviews at 'The Interview' Premiere Amid Sony Hacking Fallout

Sony Hackers Sent Top Execs Threatening Email Days Before Attack

Sony Hack Attack: FBI to Hold Employee Cybersecurity Awareness Briefings on Studio Lot

Celebrity Business and Cyberbullies

Something about a part of this discussion makes me squirm. It seems like they are blaming the victim because they feel hurt about being cyberbullied. 

There is no one-size-fits-all for how a person FEELS when they discover they are the target of a cyberbully. Celebrities feel the same pain as the rest of us feel. One cannot just get over it. It is a process. 

While there is some good in this clip, part of it doesn't sit right.

By the way, cyberbullying isn't a trend. It's a reality.

181 Charges of Cyberbullying Impacts Businesses Worldwide

“Imagine you’re a small-business owner or any business owner and somebody posts information to your clients that is false.”

A forensic investigation that stemmed from Canada to the United States to the United Kingdom ended in charging an Ottawa man with 181 counts of cyberbullying. The crime spree victimized 38 people over a dozen years. The charges reigned from identity fraud, criminal harassment, defamation libel and each of his attacks were targeted.

For more, read here. 

Cybersecurity Is A Start Against Business Cyberbullying

Project Blitzkrieg

When is the last time you updated Windows, Mac, your software, antivirus, checked your firewall, did a Disk Cleanup, or cleaned out your Internet history? At the bare minimum, these are your basic tasks to securing your system.

Leaving all of these items unchecked means your computer is at risk for outside hackers, your performance will suffer, and your laptop and desktop may ultimately shut down when it collects too much cache.

If you are still running on Windows XP (which Microsoft no longer updates as of early this year), you have now put your entire network at risk. Merry Christmas, you just invited hackers into your company and clients' computer systems.

If your company has not updated its computers, system, or security since they were purchased in 2010, you have just put all your suppliers and their suppliers at risk.

You can no longer afford to drive the Internet without up-to-date insurance. If you do, it's like leaving the doors to your house and your car wide open as you head out for a Hawaii vacation. Your not understanding technology isn't an excuse. Find or hire someone who does.

The stakes are high. We've seen many examples of late, including Target, Winners/TJ Maxx, and Home Depot. They put all their customers at risk for identity fraud and financial hacks.

While in the back of our minds, we might expect that something could happen with retailers whose investment in computer systems is so far down the line of priorities, it may not exist. Where we are surprised is when it happens to a digital savvy firm, one that produces digital content and products that we view our digital content on. This is why the Sony attack is huge. If it can happen to that organization, it can happen to any of us.

Can A Facebook Threat Be Considered Free Speech?

How to deal with a Facebook bully

The Anthony Elonis v. United States case is one you need to keep your eyes on. The Supreme Court is determining whether the threats Elonis made to his ex-wife constitute criminal behavior or freedom of speech. The decision will have major repercussions across the digital hemisphere.

John Hayward discusses +Pew Research Center's point of view on this topic in his piece: Free speech vs. cyberbullying. It's worth a read.