Friday, 10 June 2011
Some of you may remember this Smart Investing Daily article from early February. In it I detailed the online security breach of the Nasdaq’s computer systems by hackers. I wasn’t concerned about just your personal data being stolen, but even worse, hackers taking control of the marketplace itself.
Recently, there was a online security breach at Citigroup (C:NYSE). Hundreds of thousands of customers’ very private and valuable data was accessed. Citi has about 21 million credit-card accounts, but they say only a limited number were affected.
According to the Financial Times who broke the story, Citi hasn’t said much else on the matter.
I feel like no one gets the enormity of the situation! I am talking about billions of dollars of our money, our credit and personal data at risk. There could even be a meltdown of the way we do business.
Imagine having all of your information wiped out… Tax documents, emails, financial statements, personal documents and medical records, your bank accounts…
Things are getting dangerous out there. Your personal information is more at risk now than at any other time in history. And it’s all because of one thing…
The Cloud
The cloud is like a huge public computer and hard drive. It’s a network that offers users access to different types of software that they might not have on their personal computers. The cloud can also store and control personal data, and that’s what we’re concerned about.
All this positive hype about the cloud should have us extremely concerned about the real privacy of our personal information. Having your personal information stored on a shared server is inviting trouble, no matter how secure it claims to be. But this trend is growing… Now that we are gravitating toward an era of “unchecked information and storage overload,” is our information safe at all? Are you comfortable having your life in the cloud?
I myself have been a victim of fraud and have been noticing an increasing number of major security breaches during the past couple months that NO ONE seems to be talking about. It scares me to death that we seem to be ignoring this specter.
In fact, Apple (AAPL:NASDAQ) just launched its new iCloud service. Take a look at this video of the new Apple iCloud server farm in Maiden, N.C.
(Sign up for Smart Investing Daily and let me and fellow editor Sara Nunnally simplify the market for you with our easy-to-understand articles.)
Online Security Breaches Everywhere
What is even more disturbing is that the Citi information leak pales in comparison to the serious data hacking that has occurred in the past three months:
Sony
One you might be familiar with is Sony’s PlayStation network. You may think of PlayStation as just a video game, but it has become so much more. This evolution made the network very attractive to hackers. A group of hackers named LulzSec even forced Sony to take its PlayStation network offline for a month after their attack compromised 77 million users’ data. Then LulzSec hacked them again (Sony Pictures this time)! They were basically able to download over 1,000,000 people’s personal information (Sony says much less), including passwords, email addresses, home addresses, dates of birth.
They also gained control of administrative passwords, privileges and 3.5 million music coupons.
Michaels Crafts
This story didn’t get much attention, but hackers were able to capture customers’ credit card and pin info at the arts & crafts stores across 20 states. It was hard to find out just how many accounts were affected. Unfortunately, thieves and hackers may remain dormant for a while before committing fraudulent acts with the data they have stolen.
Epsilon
Even third-party companies that have access to our data aren’t immune. Epsilon is the world’s largest permission-based email company that works with thousands of companies around the world. In April millions of customers’ names and email addresses were divulged to hackers.
While it may seem “less bad” that only names and emails addresses were supposedly leaked, that is all a professional criminal needs to get access to your more sensitive information. Here is a list of affected companies. You may have received a letter or email from them.
| American Express | City Market | Hilton Honors |
| Ameriprise Financial | The College Board | The Home Shopping Network |
| Barclays Bank of Delaware | Dillons | JPMorgan Chase |
| Best Buy | Disney Vacations | Kroger |
| Brookstone | Food 4 Less | Marriott Rewards |
| Capital One | Fred Meyer | Ritz-Carlton |
| Citibank | Fry’s | Robert Half |
| Smith Brands | Verizon | U.S. Bank |
| TiVo | Walgreens |
Profit With Cloud Security
These are just a couple of attacks. Believe me, there are many more to come as our information moves from our home to the cloud.
Your credit or debit card company may offer you “zero-liability protection,” but this is more than not having to pay for a $300 fuel charge or 16 pairs of Gucci shoes. This intrusion goes much further… into your personal life, credit and credibility.
If we get a serious hacker who really wants to create chaos, I don’t think it would be farfetched to see someone take control of our strategic online world. Think smart grid, the military, etc.
I am not here to scare the living daylights out of you, but simply to make you aware that you need to protect yourself and back everything up on a hard drive that you disconnect and store away. That’s the first personal step you have to take today.
For those looking to make a buck or two from this industry, you might want to look at companies that will profit from keeping the cloud safe. Check out Akamai Technologies (AKAM:NASDAQ); they are really shifting their energy toward this area. They also deliver data for Apple’s iTunes and provide the streaming video for Netflix (NFLX:NASDAQ).
Keeping your data safe is one survival tactic. Another is to make as smart financial decisions, like getting on the right side of this cloud trend.
Another Way to Protect Your Money
It is warfare out there, my friends. Aside from hackers trying to steal your data, everyone is trying to put their hands in YOUR pockets. You can’t trust just anyone with your personal information, just like you can’t trust just anyone with your investments. There are millions of underhanded investors who are trying their hardest to make money for themselves, perhaps at your expense.
They’re just like those hackers who want to steal your credit card or bank account number.
Investing can sometimes be a zero-sum game, meaning that for every winner, there has to be a loser.
That means every investor should learn some survival tactics. I urge you to come visit us out in Vegas in September when we’ll reveal these tactics, and show you how to have the mindset of a successful trader and investor. It will be an eye-opening experience. As part of our Las Vegas summit meeting, we’re preparing a special Webinar with an exclusive report on how the U.S. government is stealing your money. It’s available nowhere else.
The Webinar is free, and it’s the first step in getting on the winning side of the coming money crisis. Click here.
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