Worcester Business Journal

30 Worcester Business Journal • October 26, 2015 www.wbjournal.com M ost Internet users have heard the recommendations that they need to use a password not related to their name, address or pet's name while including symbols, numbers and random capital letters. The reality is the usernames they have created for email accounts, social media and other online services could be delivering all their private details into the hands of cyber criminals – no password needed. When you include a first name and the numbers from your street address in a username, cyber criminals can harvest those details to search for other private information that you may not know is publicly available on the Internet. Cyber criminals use a technique called Doxing, combing the web for snippets of personal information to build a full profile to execute crimes like identity theft, scams or other targeted attacks. People do not realize that if they post a comment on a public page with a username like CrazyShaunOrlando those two pieces of information are enough detail for a criminal to exploit. Within minutes they can find your home address, what you paid for your home, your high school, your kids' school, the list goes on. Avoid the following five common mistakes when creating a username. 1. Recycling one username across accounts – Avoid using the same username to log into different online accounts. This just makes it easier for criminals to search for and find details about your life. 2. Including all or part of your name – Business professionals and students often use a variation of their full name as an email address, on social media and other online forums, making it easier for both social-media friends and for criminals to follow or friend them. 3. Revealing details about your location – Incorporating the city you reside in now or where you were born into your username is never a good idea. Criminals can use this information to narrow their search for your personal details, and it's also a common password security question. 4. Using your birthday or other meaningful numbers – While a string of four to eight numbers might seem random, a criminal will be able to use a birthday or street address to veri- fy if the information they are accumu- lating is all for the same person. 5. Sharing a username with an email address – Linking a username with an email address can simplify a criminal's search for your personal information. Using trial and error, a criminal can add common email pro- viders to your username, run a search and pull up your social media accounts and any other sites where you have used that email address to create a profile. Some email providers including Gmail, Outlook and Yahoo allow users to alter their email address into infinite number of disposable addresses. For example if your email address is shauntips@gmail.com and you want to sign up for a new deal website, you can alter your email address just for that site by adding an identifier to it such as shauntips+FreeRunningStuff@gmail. com. This keeps your actual email address private and can help stop criminals from being able to track your online history simply by search- ing for one of your email addresses. n Shaun Murphy is one of the nation's leading security and privacy experts. He is the founder and CEO of Private Giant and the creator of Sndr. For more information, visit sndr.com or follow @PrivateShaun. By Ford R. Myers Ford R. Myers is a career coach and president of Career Potential, LLC. Contact him at www.careerpotential.com or contact@careerpotential. com. 10 Things I Know About... Cybersecurity dos and don'ts KNOW HOW 10) Responding to online job postings In general, job postings and "want ads" produce little value. Spend no more than 5 percent of your time on them. 9) Sending unsolicited resumes They're wasted effort. Abandon this job search tactic completely. 8) Looking only for job openings More than 40 percent of positions are created for the applicant, often at the interview. Shift your focus from openings to opportunities by researching target companies' needs and convey your matching experience, strengths and contributions. 7) Ineffective networking Listen rather than talk. Have a clear agenda and ask for feedback, guidance and referrals. 6) Too wide a focus Get clear on exactly the type of job you want. 5) Unplanned search Develop a well-thought out job search methodology including daily introspection and planning, and a system for accountability. 4) Doing it alone Career coaches provide objective guidance and a proven system for job search success. Other resources include job search groups/clubs, career seminars, college career centers, etc. 3) Letting others take control A small selection of professional recruiters can serve an important role in your search, but maintain control over the recruiting process. The only person who can get you a job is you. 2) Not preparing well All job interviews have five basic elements: articulating your value, conveying your knowledge of the company, asking intelligent questions, negotiating compensation and following-up to close the deal. Research the company and the interviewer beforehand. 1) Not knowing your market value Research and assess your value in the marketplace before an interview. Only talk money when the employer makes an offer. n G etting promoted to a leadership or managerial position is great, a fruit of the labor of one's hard work. Going from a coworker to a boss can bring challenges, as well. It pays to reflect on the circumstances and situation at hand rather than just jump in. Here are three things to keep in mind before you pack up your favorite mug and make the trek to the corner office: Respond to that specific situation. Each team and each company has its own special set of circumstances that need to be addressed. Sometimes these situations require difficult decisions to clear the path for your transition. A Michael Watkins article in Harvard Business Review discusses Stefan, who was promoted to manager. "There was an influential manager who, despite Stefan's best efforts, didn't grasp the need for change; in fact, the manager's inaction threatened to undermine Stefan's leadership," he wrote. Where firing that person sent a message, so did the fact that Stefan filled the post from within, Watkins said, showing confidence in company strengths. Customize. Where the executive before you likely molded the job around his or her skills and preferences, the role became defined that way, points out an article at KornFerry.com, a leadership institute website. Also, connected roles in the company may have been built around that. "Be conscious of how you will need to reshape the role and team to fit you" and best benefit the company, said the article. Know that it's OK to say "I don't know." "Discuss the benefits and challenges associated with being forthright about what knowledge you lack individually and as a team," says another HBR.org article by Steven D'Souza and Diana Renner. This does a few things: reduces expectations that you will have all the answers; opens up room for growth; and creates safety for your team to admit that they don't have all the answers, either. n 101: LEADER TRANSITIONING >> BY SUSAN SHALHOUB Special to the Worcester Business Journal BY SEAN MURPHY Special to the Worcester Business Journal Those who do the don'ts, raise your hand (but not on webcam) Job-seeker mistakes

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