Data security is right up there with accounting and record-keeping on the modern professional’s priorities list. Think of how easy it would be to find out anything about you and your business by simply opening your smartphone, launching email and performing a couple of searches. Now think of all the data breach stories over the last few years: Banks, medical centers, and government agencies are among the types of institutions that have been in the news for having thousands of people’s information stolen. Just last week, records of 4.9 million active and retired military personnel were compromised when a laptop was stolen out of a car in Texas.
Point taken: Our data is sensitive, and it requires a little effort to remain protected – especially when we lead businesses in which clients entrust us with a lot of their personal information and preferences.
Enter HackNotifier, where you can type in your email address and see whether it’s been stolen in any of the reported data breaches at major institutions. It’s that simple: Visit HackNotifier.com, enter your email address, and get results in seconds.
HackNotifier searches for your email address in publicly available hacked databases to cross-reference whether your information was taken in a breach. There’s no sign-up or payment for this service, but the site does offer two plans if you want 24-hour security: $5 and $7 per year for constant monitoring and notification.
Data security is a serious issue – not only for your personal peace of mind, but also for your professional reputation and integrity. In fact, you may even want to let your clients know about this free service in your next email newsletter, blog post or Facebook and Twitter update.