Optery

In the latest installment of our Privacy Protectors Spotlight series, we are excited to feature James E. Lee, a leading figure in the fight against identity crime. James is a seasoned executive and subject matter expert in data security, privacy protection, and identity management. He currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer of the Identity Theft Resource Center - Nonprofit (ITRC), the nation's leading nonprofit organization dedicated to assisting victims of identity crimes and advising public policy and business leaders on issues related to privacy, data security, and identity. James’ work at the ITRC not only supports countless identity crime victims but also shapes the broader strategies necessary to reduce the number of victims and mitigate the impact of identity fraud. Through the ITRC’s website and outreach programs, millions of individuals have learned how to protect their personal information from misuse. At Optery, we are greatly inspired by James’s efforts and are happy to spotlight his outstanding contributions to privacy protection. Read the full spotlight on James E. Lee and join us in recognizing his important work! https://lnkd.in/e9H4ahKW #privacy #personaldata #identitycrime

On August 8, 2024, Consumer Reports published a report, press release, and blog post promoting the conclusions that people-search site removal services are “largely ineffective” and that “doing the work yourself is more effective” than any of the data removal services tested. We felt the study was well intentioned, but poorly designed, misleading in its conclusions, and ultimately the source of misinformation as major news outlets picked up the story and amplified its flawed conclusions across the internet. Read Optery's full statement in response on our blog: https://lnkd.in/gFnt6hjG Excerpts: ▶ Consumer Reports Promoted a Conclusion That Was Not Even Tested Consumer Reports promoted the conclusion that “doing the work yourself is more effective than all of them”. However, the study did not have regular consumers performing the opt-outs. Instead, it had highly trained data privacy professional(s) performing the opt-outs for the consumers. The study only tested 13 data brokers. The near impossibility for most regular consumers to process hundreds of opt-outs manually is the very reason consumers use data removal services to begin with. ▶ The Study’s Design Ensured the Removal Services Performed at Their Worst The study’s design significantly handicapped the data removal services from the start. The report said, “we provided the opt-out services with a limited amount of information” and, regarding the optional, but recommended features, “our participants did none of these things.” Depriving the study participants of optional, but recommended features can severely impair results. As the saying goes: Garbage in, garbage out. Despite the significant handicap, Optery basically matched the effectiveness of the Consumer Reports researchers who were submitting their opt-outs by hand, with a removal rate of 68% by Optery vs. 70% for the expert privacy researchers. ▶ Which Data Removal Service Performed Best? The final results of the study ranked Optery the #1 most effective of all services tested, outperforming marketing powerhouse DeleteMe by a whopping 41 percentage points. ▶ What Did Consumer Reports Get Right? Despite significant problems with the study, there are a few threads of truth: 1) The Consumer Reports results directionally agree with what we see in practice. 2) Getting your data removed from data brokers comprehensively is really hard. This is why we are strong advocates of a federal Delete Act with provisions for Authorized Agents, similar to what was passed in California in 2023. 3) Some data removal companies are over-promising and under-delivering when marketing their services. ▶ In Conclusion The ultimate irony here is that consumers have now been twice misled. First by some data broker removal services, and now by Consumer Reports. Read Optery's full statement here: https://lnkd.in/gFnt6hjG

Today's enterprise attack surfaces have expanded beyond traditional boundaries to include employee personal information exposed by data brokers online. This information is gathered during the reconnaissance phase of a cyberattack and is frequently exploited for #socialengineering, #credentialtheft, and initial access. To safeguard your organization, start by identifying roles that attackers would likely target for their access to sensitive data and systems. These high-risk roles are the ones to prioritize for #personaldataremoval. To learn more, read the full whitepaper here (no personal data required): https://lnkd.in/eJnm8xRu

We're #hiring a new Senior Backend Engineer (Python + Django) in Argentina. Apply today or share this post with your network.

Is your business paying high cyber insurance premiums? There’s a proactive step you can take to potentially reduce those costs: minimize the personal data exposure of your employees with Optery for Business. Here’s how it works: 🛡 Reduce Your PII Attack Surface: Optery’s enterprise-grade personal data removal service significantly reduces the exposure of your employees’ personal data across hundreds of data broker sites, mitigating the risk of social engineering and other PII-based attacks. 📑 Improve Risk Profile: By proactively uncovering and minimizing exposed employee PII risk, you align with cybersecurity best practices like those recommended by the NIST Cybersecurity Framework, and insurance underwriters appreciate that. 💳 Negotiate Lower Premiums: With a reduced risk profile, you can approach your insurance provider to showcase your improved security posture. This can lead to lower premiums, reflecting your reduced risk. By continuously monitoring and removing exposed personal information, Optery ensures persistent protection against exploitation by malicious actors. Using Optery shows insurance carriers that your business understands the risk and is employing the most advanced data broker scanning software in the world to proactively minimize it. #CyberSecurity #PersonalDataRemoval #CyberInsurance

An increasing number of states now have comprehensive privacy laws, empowering consumers with control of their personal data. California, Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, Texas, Oregon, Florida, Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, New Hampshire, and North Dakota have enacted privacy laws that grant consumers the right to opt out of personal data collection and sales and include authorized agent provisions. The role of authorized agents is essential in helping to safeguard vulnerable populations such as children, elderly parents, and victims of domestic violence from data exploitation, while third-party services acting as authorized agents are a critical tool for many in safeguarding their personal information. As a trusted authorized agent, Optery is dedicated to helping people exercise their privacy rights efficiently and effectively, reducing the risks associated with exposed personal data. As more citizens exercise their rights to opt out, it will become increasingly more challenging for bad actors to obtain and exploit personal data. We expect this to lead to a reduction in phishing, voice and messaging scams, identity theft, doxing, and other PII-based threats. #PersonalDataRemoval #PrivacyLaws #AuthorizedAgents

📢 New Whitepaper Release: "PII Removal for Executives is Not Enough: Protecting a Broader Range of Employees is Essential"   Are your personal data removal efforts only focused on protecting your executives? In an era where mass SMS-phishing (smishing) campaigns and other social engineering attacks targeting non-executive staff are prevalent, extending personal data removal beyond just the C-Suite is essential. Our new whitepaper, "PII Removal for Executives is Not Enough," dives deep into the critical need for a broader approach to personal data removal across all levels of an organization. Key Highlights: ⭕ For breaches where the attack vector is social engineering, non-executive employees are often the primary targets. ⭕ Non-executive employees are targeted by attackers more than executives. ⭕ Personally identifiable information (PII) is exploited in social engineering attacks against a broad range of employee roles and departments. ⭕ Effective PII removal is a critical proactive defense against social engineering and other PII-based threats. ⭕ PII removal efforts must include a wider range of employees to close existing security gaps. ⭕ No company is immune from successful attacks. The companies profiled have large and sophisticated cybersecurity teams, but were still breached. The whitepaper includes real-world breach cases, threat actor tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) targeting non-executives, and recommendations for prioritizing personal data removal for high-risk roles. Read the full whitepaper below! #phishing #smishing #vishing

In the latest installment of our Privacy Protectors Spotlight series, we feature 💡 Rebecca Herold, a renowned privacy expert with over three decades of experience in information security, privacy, and compliance. Known as “The Privacy Professor,” Rebecca has dedicated her career to educating and advocating for better privacy practices across various industries. Through her pioneering privacy and security programs, contributions to NIST and critical cybersecurity standards, influential publications, and expert guidance, she has significantly advanced the field and helped countless individuals and businesses understand and implement robust privacy measures. At Optery, we are happy to spotlight Rebecca Herold for her contributions and look forward to seeing her continue to lead and inspire in the realm of privacy protection. Read our full spotlight on Rebecca Herold and join us in recognizing her critical work! https://lnkd.in/dRHwDXHV #Privacy #Cybersecurity #PersonalData

By removing employee personal data from Google and data broker sites, you proactively protect your team and your company from...

Optery has a United States Patent for “Dynamically creating custom hyperlinks for predefined search queries for multiple websites.” What does this patented search technology do? It allows us to find, and subsequently remove, more of your exposed profiles than any other service! We typically find ~100 profiles per user on average, including ~50 profiles missed by competitors. For more info and to read the full patent, check out "Optery's Patented Search Technology" article on our blog page. #piiremoval #cybersecurity #innnovation