According to the Ponemon Institute, cybercrime is on the rise and it’s costing companies around the world dearly; on average, a US company loses $1.9 million to cyberattacks each year, up from $1.5 million reported last year. Larger companies are even more at risk, as the potential plunder entices more hackers to attack, while also employing more sophisticated methods. On average, large companies spend at least $15.4 million a year to manager their cybercrime risks. You’ve probably heard some of the headlines: eBay hacked; Apple hacked etc. It’s infuriating when your private records, which you shared with a company you trust, get breached. But it’s often easy to lose sight of the fact that nowadays it’s not only companies that get hacked – it’s normal, nine to five, credit card holding individuals that get hacked too. Cybercriminals use all sorts of methods to spoof millions of twitter or facebook accounts and extract private information they can later use to steal your identity, extort you or hack other accounts. As such, we should all be a lot more responsible. Here’s a brief infographic made by the Digital Guardian which shows how oversharing on social media can be harmful and some practical tips on how to protect your data.

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