MoonglotexasUsing his own experience with digital life under attack, Christopher Smith shares all he has learnt on how to protect oneself in an ever-changing digital landscape. Taking the reader logically through all the elements when considering privacy and one’s identity.
“You can have privacy or convenience. You can’t have both.’ The more you have of one, the less you have of the other.“
This is a wise adage, I have a broad understanding of technology and privacy so I didn’t gain a huge amount of knowledge but I appreciate the easy-to-read style and the flow of the book is well-constructed,
“The solution isn’t exclusively better technology. It’s correcting human behavior and giving us better tools.”
There is a how-to guide at the end, a walkthrough to protect yourself and those you love but it comes with a strong proviso, it takes effort from us, we have to engage and invest time as we do in our physical world security.
“But if corporate employees or consumers are engaging in reckless behavior, like using the same easy-to-guess password on multiple websites, no technology is going to be of much help.”
This is a worthwhile read for anyone looking to orientate themselves in the cybercrime landscape and learn more about spamming, phishing, identity theft, and so on! It’s highly recommended and four out of five on the enJOYment scale.
I received a complimentary copy of the book from Amplify Publishing Group through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
From the back cover:
After mounting red flags caused Chris Smith to end a close relationship, he found his digital life under attack: accounts were compromised, emails and texts were intercepted, his social security number was stolen, and his mother’s home Wi-Fi router was breached.
Chris would soon learn that cybercriminals had targeted him in one of the most extensive, twisted cases of digital identity theft known to experts. He discovered that he wasn’t alone, but rather another casualty of the Information Age plague that continues to threaten the finances and digital safety of individuals, companies, and governments worldwide.
Once he recovered from the shock and betrayal, he assembled a comprehensive team of attorneys, digital forensics specialists, and law enforcement agents and vowed to bring his attackers to justice.
As Chris discovered when he tried to hold his attackers accountable, keeping vital personal information safe in the digital age is incredibly difficult. Privacy Pandemic is not only a firsthand account of what happens when one is targeted by sophisticated cybercriminals—it’s also a guide for readers on how to stay safe in a dangerous digital world.
Chris details the companies, software, tools, and practices that give us all the best chance of preventing security breaches and their disastrous consequences, and shares how he’s turned hardship into triumph, ensuring the power to protect personal information as much as possible is where it belongs: in the hands of each of us.
