Rochester Voice 9:10 a.m.
Thursday, June 29, 2023 9:09 am

QUINCY, Mass. - Breezeline is helping to raise awareness about internet safety and the ways customers can protect themselves when they are online.

Online threats are increasing and cybercriminals are constantly evolving the techniques they use to trick users. According to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency:

• One in three homes with computers is infected with malware
• 65% of users who went online last year received at least one online scam offer
• 47% of adults have had their personal information exposed by cybercriminals
• 31% of millennials have shared their passwords-more than any age group

Because older adults are often the target of cybercriminals, Breezeline has launched digital literacy training through its partnership with Cyber Seniors to instruct these customers on internet basics and how to protect themselves online. Additionally, Breezeline has partnered with CyberSecurity nonprofit to create a series of blogs, videos and other content to inform the public on ways to protect against cybercrime and to promote online safety.

"Cybercriminals count on users to have their guards down, and many users are in a hurry and bypass controls that are there for a reason," said Aaron Brace, vice president of engineering for Breezeline. "Making attackers' lives harder makes our lives a little harder, but it's worth the extra time and diligence."

In addition to cyberbullying, younger online users are at risk through popular apps that collect data on their online habits. Furthermore, younger users may also inadvertently download malware or reveal their own personal information or that of their parents. They may also be tricked into sending images to a person posing as another, who then threatens to share the image publicly unless extortion money is paid.

Online users can take these basic steps to help combat cyber threats:

• Exercise caution when surfing online or clicking on an email. Take the time to read carefully. Ask yourself whether you were expecting the email and why you need to provide the information requested. If the email contains an urgent appeal for your attention, or contains spelling errors, this is likely a phishing attempt. Be careful using a public WiFi network because it may not be secure.

• Use long, unique credentials for usernames and passwords. Use passphrases rather than passwords, vary them between sites and change them often. Attackers can hack the database of one platform to obtain usernames and passwords so that they can try to access other sites frequented by the same user.

• Use multi-factor authentication when possible because it requires more than one verification step.

• Use encryption: Do not keep sensitive documents and data unsecured on computers. For example, if you keep a folder of your tax return on your computer, it should be zipped and encrypted. Lastly, ensure that you have antivirus software on your computer.

• Do not share personal data on social media sites or other online forums. These can be mined by cyber criminals to gain access to other accounts.

Breezeline is also working to protect customers while they are online. While Breezeline does not filter customers' online content, its security team is on the lookout for fraudulent websites and phishing emails designed to trick a recipient into providing personal data. To minimize these attacks, Breezeline uses inline scanning to warn email customers of potentially harmful email attachments.

The Breezeline "WiFi Your Way" service, meanwhile, has best-in-class security powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) with always-on digital and data security for every device on the home or business network. It filters out suspicious activity and even automatically quarantines devices that are behaving strangely. The system also includes built-in ad-blocking for overall smoother surfing.

Breezeline also uses multi-step verification to protect customer data by confirming that those who contact the company are, in fact, customers. Breezeline also complies with customer data protections under federal "Customer Proprietary Network Information" (CPNI) regulations.

Resources:

Cyber security tips can be viewed at csnp.org/cyber-safety

Online resources for seniors can be found at cyberseniors.org/breezeline/

Cyberbullying resources can be found at pacer.org/bullying/info/cyberbullying/