Alteryx Data Breach: What you need to know

​If you thought 2017 was a bad year for data breaches, hang onto your personal information: another massive data breach just hit the news. During a routine search of online data, Chris Vickery, a cyber researcher, stumbled into the databases of Alteryx, a data analytics company that collects and stores data on virtually every household in America. In addition to addresses and phone numbers, the database contained several hundred data items for 123 million households, including the number of children and their ages, pets, ethnicity, interests, charitable donations, and more. Vickery pointed out that the data has probably been exposed since the database was started in 2013, so cyber criminals have had access to that data for almost 4 years.

While the Alteryx database didn’t contain names, Social Security or financial account numbers, it did contain plenty of other personal information criminals can piece together with public information to steal your identity. Identity thieves may also use this information to create more targeting and convincing phishing campaigns designed to scam you, getting you to unwittingly download spyware to your computer, or visit a fake website where they can capture your password and other credentials.

From Equifax to Alteryx and beyond, massive data breaches have become so common it’s virtually inevitable that your personal data is in or will fall into criminal hands. All of this exposed data puts you at an increased risk for identity theft. While that can feel incredibly overwhelming, understanding that it’s no longer a question of if it will happen, but when it will happen, means that you can choose to be better prepared.

In addition to all the steps you already take to keep your own information private, your future protection strategy needs to focus on early detection of identity theft. Here are four things to focus on for 2018:

• Order a report every quarter from one of the credit bureaus and read it for any signs of fraudulent activity.
• Review your bank and credit card statements and medical benefit statements carefully and immediately report anything that looks wrong.
• Consider putting a credit freeze or alert on your credit report to prevent identity thieves from setting up new accounts with your identity.
• Sign up for identity protection that includes monitoring and guaranteed identity recovery. You’ll be notified quickly when there are signs of fraudulent activity on your credit report or the internet. More importantly, if you become a victim of ID theft, you can quickly turn the problem over to an expert recovery advocate who will work on your behalf to restore your identity while you get on with your life.

The start of a new year is always a time to take stock and make resolutions, so why not add these to your list? They’re good and simple ways to help ensure a happier and safer 2018.