How Holiday Shoppers Can Protect Their Information Against Cyberattacks
*By Tracey Cheek*
The holiday season is here again ー and as consumers buy and spend, more personal information is being exposed online.
The number and severity of cyberattacks are on the rise, and both consumers and businesses need protection. Shane Wall, chief technology officer at HP and global head of HP Labs sat down with Cheddar on Monday to discuss the state of cybersecurity heading into the new year.
“It continues to be dynamic,” said Wall on cyberattacks. “The number of attacks we’ve seen are accelerating. Keeping up with that continues to be a big challenge for us tech providers.”
Hackers are getting smarter, and attacks could come from a variety of sources, said Wall.
“It could be nation-state hackers, it could be individual hackers,” said Wall.
As for the motivations behind the attacks, he said they vary.
“We’ve seen a lot of extortion pieces that go on, or it could just be fame," he said. "They just want to be known.”
In this environment, consumers need to protect themselves, and that starts with selecting a secure device. “When you make a device choice, you’re making a security choice,” Wall told Cheddar. “So choose carefully the device that you use. Make sure you look underneath to make sure they actually have all the right security pieces in place."
He said consumers online should always make sure they are shopping at trusted websites, and advised against opening any emails that aren't from a known sender.
Tech giants have to get into the mind of a hacker to prevent attacks, especially at a moment when the nature of cyberattacks is constantly changing.
“Now we’re seeing very dynamic attacks that are actually using artificial intelligence and machine learning in order to find and probe capabilities," Wall said. “As a result, on our end, we need to turn to things like artificial intelligence and machine learning in order to combat the bad guys.”
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/hps-chief-technology-officer-on-the-state-of-cybersecurity).
The Rev. Al Sharpton is set to lead a protest march on Wall Street to urge corporate America to resist the Trump administration’s campaign to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The New York civil rights leader will join clergy, labor and community leaders Thursday in a demonstration through Manhattan’s Financial District that’s timed with the anniversary of the Civil Rights-era March on Washington in 1963. Sharpton called DEI the “civil rights fight of our generation." He and other Black leaders have called for boycotting American retailers that scaled backed policies and programs aimed at bolstering diversity and reducing discrimination in their ranks.
President Donald Trump's administration last month awarded a $1.2 billion contract to build and operate what's expected to become the nation’s largest immigration detention complex to a tiny Virginia firm with no experience running correction facilities.
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Cracker Barrel said late Tuesday it’s returning to its old logo after critics — including President Donald Trump — protested the company’s plan to modernize.
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Southwest Airlines will soon require plus-size travelers to pay for an extra seat in advance if they can't fit within the armrests of one seat. This change is part of several updates the airline is making. The new rule starts on Jan. 27, the same day Southwest begins assigning seats. Currently, plus-size passengers can pay for an extra seat in advance and later get a refund, or request a free extra seat at the airport. Under the new policy, refunds are still possible but not guaranteed. Southwest said in a statement it is updating policies to prepare for assigned seating next year.
Cracker Barrel is sticking with its new logo. For now. But the chain is also apologizing to fans who were angered when the change was announced last week.
Elon Musk on Monday targeted Apple and OpenAI in an antitrust lawsuit alleging that the iPhone maker and the ChatGPT maker are teaming up to thwart competition in artificial intelligence.
