COVID-19 has led to an increase in cybersecurity incidents: how to make sure you're protected in 2021

As the co-founder of online will platform Willful, you might think we’re in the business of end-of-life planning - but actually, we’re in the business of peace of mind. We help empower people to ensure their family is taken care of, and that their legacy is protected.

For me – and especially in 2020, ensuring peace of mind goes well beyond estate planning. It also goes well beyond making sure my business is secure – though that is always a top priority and we’ve developed stringent protocols with our CTO to ensure our information is protected. 

In our current realities, where many of us – myself included - are working remotely and connected to multiple devices, it extends a need for stronger cybersecurity to my personal life. Last year, I heard a cybersecurity expert say that the majority of cyberattacks are due to phishing emails, and since then I’ve been much more cognizant of how I’m managing my personal devices and protecting myself against online risk. 

As founders, we often neglect our personal security in favour of our corporate security - but the fact is, COVID-19 has led to a drastic increase in the amount of cybercrime. 

According to a survey commissioned by TELUS, more than three-quarters of Canadians (77%) have reported increased use of online services during the pandemic; and we’ve certainly seen that with Willful as people turned to online wills vs. visiting a lawyer. People spending more time online means that more individuals are targets - according to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, thousands of Canadians have collectively lost more than $60 million to fraud this year alone. 

My co-founder (and husband) Kevin was the victim of identity theft several years ago, so I’ve seen firsthand what happens when you’re not vigilant about how you protect your personal data. As someone who believes in proactive protection - both because it’s my company’s mission and a personal priority - I’ve increasingly turned to software and solutions that help me manage any potential risk, whether that’s a password manager, adding two-factor authentication to devices, or being more cautious with where I’m sharing personal information online. 

We moved into our new Willful offices in downtown Toronto in February (perfect timing to not actually use the space), and our neighbour on our floor is NortonLifeLock - I wondered for months what exactly they did, especially since it seemed that they had a similar mission to help individuals protect themselves in their personal lives. Then, I learned that TELUS was working with NortonLifeLock to launch an online security product for Canadians, so it was the perfect opportunity to learn more about my neighbours. I’ve worked with the TELUS team in the past (they were a client at my previous agency, and I worked closely with them on their TELUS Pitch contest for small businesses), and I love their commitment to social impact and supporting small businesses.

Their new offering is TELUS Online Security Powered by NortonLifeLock, which helps Canadians prioritize their personal online security. So what is the product? For a monthly fee (starting at $10/month), it offers a suite of tools for personal use including device security, online privacy tools, and identity theft protection. Most importantly, it helps to identify potential threats, and if something does happen, they help you take action (which would have been helpful back when Kevin’s identity theft happened). Here’s an overview of the features I’m using most: 

• Device Security - the platform includes a Password Manager, and this is one of the easiest things you can do to help protect yourself online. By storing your passwords in a secure online vault, ensuring they’re all a minimum character length and using a strong four-word master password, you can reduce your risk of being hacked. But I also love the SafeCam feature (which blocks unauthorized access to your webcam - I’m on Zoom calls too often to cover it up with a sticker), and the tools that protect my devices from ransomware and other malware. Plus, all your devices are protected in real-time against ransomware, viruses, spyware, malware, and other online threats.
• Bank, Credit Card and Investment Account Activity Alerts ? - I’m not someone who checks my bank accounts and credit card statements religiously, so I love that they alert me when there’s any activity on my bank accounts, credit cards or in my investment account that’s over the threshold I have set. Although yes, the suspicious amount of UberEats charges on my credit card is sadly just me. 
• Credit Monitoring1 Alerts - As a small business owner, having a solid credit score is so important because a strong credit score is one of the only ways to get loans or lines of credit. It’s extremely important that I know what’s affecting my score - and often with identity theft, people can take out credit cards or other accounts in your name and you won’t know until your credit report gets dinged. Credit Monitoring Alerts help identify potential identity theft issues as changes are made to your credit file. 
• Dark Web Monitoring § Powered by LifeLock - This feature monitors the dark web and notifies you if your personal information is found. I’ll be honest - I don’t know what the dark web is, or where to find it - but I do know that my info shouldn’t be floating around on it. As soon as I activated my account, I got a notification for about 15 potential info breaches dating back as far as 2008, and I could verify that I had changed passwords for all affected sites.
• Full-Service Identity Restoration - if I do experience identity theft, a dedicated Identity Restoration Specialist will help to take action and restore my identity. 

Features vary by plans and you can check out a full list of features here. 

So why did I partner with @TELUS to write this article now? Again, it boils down to COVID-19, and the stats showing we’re all facing increased cybersecurity risk in our new realities. Statistics Canada has reported that 42% of Canadians have experienced at least one cybersecurity incident since the start of the pandemic, including phishing attacks, malware, fraud and hacked accounts. Pair that with TELUS data showing that only 18% of Canadians reported they use online identity theft protection tools (including me until about two weeks ago).

If you’re like me, and you want to commit to levelling up your personal security you can check out their plans, which range from $10-$30 per month. The solution is available across Canada (though not in Quebec, at this time) and not just for current TELUS customers. Take it from someone who’s in the business of peace of mind - especially heading into 2021, it’s priceless.

#TELUS_Partner #sponsored #TELUSOnlineSecurity

No one can prevent all cybercrime or identity theft.

? LifeLock does not monitor all transactions at all businesses.

1- If your plan includes credit reports, scores, and/or credit monitoring features ("Credit Features"), two requirements must be met to receive said features: (i) your identity must be successfully verified with TransUnion; and (ii) TransUnion and Equifax must be able to locate your credit file that contains sufficient credit history information. If these requirements are not met you will not receive credit features from the bureaus. You will receive Credit Features once the verification process is successfully completed. Any credit monitoring will take several days to begin after your successful plan enrollment.  

§ Dark Web Monitoring Powered by LifeLock? in the Norton 360 Basic plan (without LifeLock) defaults to monitor your email address only. Log in to your Norton account to enter more information for monitoring purposes.