In today’s Internet of Everything world, we’re more connected than ever before—which means more opportunity for security threats and data breaches. To raise awareness about the importance of security, we’ll be celebrating National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM) by sharing security-focused content all month. Each Monday in October, we’ll share a new security blog post from our experts. Enjoy!

Join the conversation on Twitter with #NCSAM and #CyberAware.

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October is Cyber Security Awareness Month, and if you haven’t had a chance to catch security expert Troy Hunt’s latest webinar on the topic, I’ll give you second chance. All good? Great. Now, I’ll give you a few minutes to change all your passwords (and the locks on your doors at home, too). The point is, you should be just a little bit terrified right now. This is the age of the “Internet of Things Everything.” No wait—to phrase that more accurately—it’s the “Internet of Everything Vulnerable.” OK, let’s all calm down. Troy gave us the inside scoop on six major security breaches that caught us off guard in 2016. Now, let’s take a look at three big lessons we need to take away from these attacks:

First – No one is immune to a data breach

Nope, not even Troy and his family. As we learn in Troy’s presentation, both he and his wife’s personal accounts were compromised in the infamous DropBox hack. Yes, even security experts are at risk. Along with Troy’s information, 68 million other records were compromised. Fortunately, he has some advice on basic password protection anyone can set up that helped save the day for his family.

Second – This is going to keep happening

Troy refers to 2016 as, “the year of the breach,” and, sadly, that title was also given to the year before it and is reserved for the year after. And, so on. You get the idea. In fact, as Troy was working on this webinar, he was busy being interviewed about the largest ever data breach to date. The fact that the Yahoo breach was a “state-sponsored act” is even more concerning. This wasn’t a hacktivist attack that stole a half-billion records to make a statement; it was a nefarious act committed by an as-of-yet unknown government against the United States. With more of our lives being tied to our online profiles and more of our physical technologies connecting to AI and interfacing with wireless communication, we need to be prepared for this type of news to become “the norm.” 

Third – You’ve probably already been hacked (and just haven’t heard about it yet)

One of the biggest takeaways from Troy’s presentation was the fact that nearly every incident actually took place a few years ago…we’re just now learning about them. In one case, the data breach (of 7 million records to be exact) occurred months before anyone compromised was even informed! That means the victims went about their daily lives, using the same passwords on other accounts most likely, without being alerted. The rationale? Essentially, if a company publicly admits to a breach, the “hackers” who’ve stolen the data will act on it. But if the company keeps quiet, maybe nothing bad will happen. Yeah, right. Fortunately, many companies do take the high-road. But, Troy offers some tips and insights on how to be proactive as an individual, and how corporations should handle the nearly inevitable data breach coming their way.

If you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed, fear not. Troy offers a unique perspective into a changing attitude on data, ethics and the demand for more protection and accountability when it comes to your personal information. Check it out, get informed and stay diligent. But, maybe change your passwords first—Dale offers some great password tips here.

Check out Troy’s webinar.