Cybersecurity is a pervasive concern.  And the recent “data incident” where a hacker obtained the personal information of past UMN employees and students raises the specter again for UMRA members.  What can we do to protect against potential identity theft resulting from the stolen data?

What do we know about the UMN “data incident”?

Based on the University’s investigation, the incident potentially affected individuals who submitted information to the University as a prospective student, attended the University as a student, worked at the University as an employee, or participated in University programs between 1989 and August 2021.

Those affected will be contacted via the email address the University has for them. Free credit and identity monitoring will also be available. More details about what happened, who was affected, and what is being done are available on the U’s Notice of Data Incident page.

What should you be concerned about?

It helps to be clear about the risks, in order to focus our efforts on preventing damage.  Hackers are looking for data that can help them get into your online accounts.  Or that allow them to sign up for credit cards, loans, or other accounts in your name.  

Note that credit and identity monitoring, as is often offered when your data is stolen, does not protect you.  It simply gives you a warning if your information is found to be available online for use by the bad guys.  Don’t wait to be notified!  Below is a list of steps to harden your accounts and identity against attack.

How can you protect your online accounts?

Most people have more accounts online than they can count. By prioritizing which accounts are most important to protect, the effort becomes more manageable. Things like retirement accounts, bank accounts, social security accounts, medicare accounts—anything that involves money or your credit card data. 

Apply these tips to safeguard your online accounts, acting on the most important accounts first:

• Dual Authentication:
  • Always enable dual authentication when offered. The University uses Duo for our umn.edu emails accounts. Other types of two-factor authentication can be set up to send you a text, an email, or call you as an additional protective step to verify an account login.
• Password Management:
  • Never reuse passwords across multiple accounts.  If you have, change them now!
  • Use a password manager – they make it easier to use a different password for each account since they remember the passwords for you.  
  • Password managers generate and save complex passwords, for any password criteria, all in one step.
  • Alternatively, use “passphrases,” lengthy phrases you will remember like, “GoldyIsAGreatGopherForUMNGames”
• Email Security:
  • Prioritize securing your email accounts because if you lose or forget a password for an online account, reset information is typically sent to your email address.
  • Always enable dual authentication.
  • Use a secure password.

How can you protect your credit cards and identity?

• Credit Card Protection:
  • Avoid saving credit card information online unless needed for automatic payments, or another strong reason.  Many online accounts will offer to save your credit card, such as the theater, your grocery store, Netflix, etc. Minimize how many sites you allow to save your credit card number(s) and keep track of those that do.
  • Set up transaction alerts for real-time monitoring of credit card activity.  Credit cards often allow you to setup email notifications for each transaction.  You can look for additional types of notification options that vary by card.
  • Regularly check and reconcile your credit card statements, looking for unfamiliar transactions.
  • Credit cards are more highly protected than debit cards.  Avoid using debit cards online where possible.
• Identity Protection:
  • Place a freeze on all three major credit bureaus to prevent unauthorized credit inquiries.  Application for loans, credit cards, or other credit will nearly always include a credit inquiry to one of the big three.  Note:  you will need to “thaw” the account if you actually do need credit yourself, but it is easily done.
  • Open a Social Security account, so someone else cannot open one in your name, that you cannot access or fix.
  • Same for a Medicare online account.

There are other steps you can take to protect your credit and your identity. The important thing is to get started, and do what you can!  Learn more at Federal Trade Commission.