After receiving notice of critical PHP vulnerabilities earlier this week, our website provider let us know they were already addressing the issue, and they patched our public website the same day. (Even though we don’t store member data on our public website, it was important to mitigate the vulnerability as quickly as possible.)Our internal, nonpublic systems were patched Thursday, and by Thursday evening, all vendors we work with had reported completing their updates. No unauthorized access to member data was suspected. What is PHP? PHP is widely used to operate websites and web applications, including several services First Education uses.…

An online search for your name may reveal more than you expect: An old address, your phone number, relatives’ names, or other personal details… all of which a scammer can use to make a call, text, or email sound as though it came from someone who knows you. But don’t worry; you don’t need to disappear from the internet to take better control of your privacy. You just need to find out what’s visible, and it all starts with a simple search. Take control of your privacy by: Doing an online search for yourself Search for your name along with…

Keeping personal information private is everyone’s responsibility. Do your part by using strong passwords, and changing yours often! Here are our recommendations to make your passwords less vulnerable.  Let’s start with the “do’s” of a good password. DO use multi-factor authentication (MFA) whenever available. DO increase the length to create stronger passwords. DO change your password whenever you think it may have been compromised. DO use a password manager; check out this post to find out how to get started What are some password “don’ts”? DON’T use names or dates associated with you or your family. This includes the names of your…

Computers, tablets, smartphones, TVs, thermostats, cameras, doorbells, and lightbulbs: What do all these things have in common? They are all devices that connect to your home network and the internet. If you had to guess: How many connected devices do you have in your home right now? Click here to download a printable PDF where you can keep track of all your devices in one place! Let’s review some steps you can take to keep your home network safe from potential cyber threats. How to Secure Your Modem and Router Modems and routers act as the gateway between your devices…

Members: We have been notified that a dark web carding market has released a massive dump of 1,221,551 credit cards, allowing anyone to download them for free to conduct financial fraud. The threat actors announced the credit card dump on Sunday to promote their new domains. The freely circulating file contains a mix of “fresh” cards expiring between 2023 and 2026 from around the world, but most entries appear to be from the United States. Analysts claim the cards mainly come from web skimmers, which are malicious scripts injected into checkout pages of hacked e-commerce sites.  Currently, we are working with…

Phishing is when criminals use fake emails to lure you into clicking on them and handing over your personal information, or installing malware on your device. When criminals go phishing, you don’t have to take the bait. It’s easy to avoid a scam (phishing) email when you know what to look for!  The signs can be subtle, but once you recognize a phishing attempt, you can avoid falling for it. Know the signs of a fake phishing email The offer inside is too good to be trueLanguage is urgent, alarming, or threateningWriting is poorly crafted, with misspellings and bad grammarGreetings…

One of the best ways to keep your information secure is also one of the easiest: Keep your software and apps updated!  When updates become available for your phone, computer, tablet, or other device, make them right away. We know how tempting it can be to click “remind me later,” but here’s why that’s not the best idea.  These updates are pushed out to fix general software problems and provide new security patches where criminals might get in. (Cyber criminals are always looking for new ways to steal your data through software, and updating your software is an easy way…

Over the years, we’ve gone from having just a couple of passwords to keep track of, to managing upwards of 100 passwords or more. If you’re like most people, you’re probably using the same password for most of your accounts—and that’s not safe. If that one password gets stolen because of a breach, it can be used to gain access to all your accounts… and any personal or financial information they contain. That’s why we recommend using a password manager! What is a password manager? A password manager is software designed to manage all your online credentials, like usernames and…

First things first: What is multi-factor authentication? Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is a security measure that requires anyone logging into an account to complete a two-step process to prove their identity.  In short, multi-factor authentication makes it twice as hard for criminals to access an online account! How does multi-factor authentication work? By requiring two steps instead of one to log in, multi-factor authentication greatly increases the security of any account. When MFA is activated, you’ll log in to your account with your username and password like normal, then complete an additional security step to finish the login process. Examples of…

Peer to Peer or Person to Person (P2P) payment services are an easy way to send funds directly from your account to another person. These services are available through several providers via websites and mobile apps.  Funds can be sent quickly often using only a phone number or email address. However, P2P transactions have risks and do not have the same consumer protections as other transactions. Unlike credit card and debit card transactions, there are no chargeback rights on P2P payment services. This means if you send someone money, even someone who has defrauded you, we may not refund your…