Patrick Dunne

Online Voting Is Not Safe
With the concerns surrounding a U.S. Postal Service slowdown and voter suppression, discussions continue to grow about online voting for the 2020 election.
But many cybersecurity experts are skeptical, including Murat Kantarcioglu, a professor of computer science at the University of Texas at Dallas.
Kantarcioglu, who holds a doctorate in computer science from Perdue University, told Digital Privacy News that online voting lacked a meaningful method of self-auditing,...

The coronavirus hasn’t been kind to most companies, to say the least. Massive layoffs, reduced traffic, rent prices, tumbling stocks, and a lack of loan forgiveness led many small businesses struggling to survive. There are a few winners – cleaning services, streaming platforms, e-commerce, online food delivery services, and so forth – but most mom-and-pop stores face significant hardships.
Restaurants were hit particularly hard from the pandemic. Most of them no longer allow sit-down dining,...

Centralized finance has long been a mainstay in the economic world. At its core, centralized finance simply refers to the concentration of planning and decision-making to a central location or institute. For example, the U.S. first opened the Bank of North America in 1782. This bank was referred to as the father of the credit system and paper circulation. Yet, the Bank of North America never became the nation’s central bank due to pushback over concerns that it would favor foreigners and enac...

Female entrepreneurship has become increasingly common as more women set out into the business world. In 2018, there were 12.3 million women-owned businesses in the U.S. That’s a substantial increase from the 402,000 women-owned businesses back in 1972. Currently, 40% of U.S. companies are owned by women.
Many have become household names — Arianna Huffington, Indra Nooyi, Debbie Fields, and more. But perhaps nobody has a better story than that of Sara Blakely.
Blakely founded Spanx, a shapewe...

The world is slowly changing as more people begin to embrace the idea of female leadership. Every day, women are making huge strides in countless industries. They’re building new businesses, raising money, speaking up, and leading the charge in traditionally masculine fields.
Perhaps there’s no better example than that of Sara Blakely, founder and CEO of apparel brand Spanx. In 2012, she landed on the cover of Forbes for being the world’s youngest self-made billionaire. The magazine also list...

I’ve struggled with money problems more times than I could count. My first post-college job was as a part-time blog writer making $11 an hour. I tried to save up as much as I could, even though a lot of my paycheck was going to rent, gas, and public transportation. My then-girlfriend and I lived with my parents, which helped us save money because they charged very low rent.
I eventually got a better job as a receptionist, working five days a week and making $18 an hour. We moved into a small ...

What does it take to become a millionaire?
The elusive American dream might seem far-fetched for some, but it’s a reality for many others. According to the online casino guide Slotsia, most millionaires are self-made by age 36. They didn’t inherit a vast fortune or win the lottery – instead, they relied on hard work and creativity.
Perhaps there’s no more famous example than the world’s richest man: Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
In 1994, Bezos read that internet usage grew by 2,300% in a single ...

Danny Carlson, founder and CEO of Kenji ROI is one of the youngest and most successful entrepreneurs of our time. But life wasn’t always this way.
Carlson was what you might call a misguided youth back in the day. As a teenager, he spent most of his days skating, smoking, listening to death metal, and paying no attention to his more significant life goals. Carlson described his younger self as a “party-happy, adrenaline-seeking machine hell-bent on killing brain cells like it was a video game...

Robert McGuinness always knew that the typical career path wasn’t for him. His mom’s side of the family were first-generation immigrants from the Middle East who started with nothing and built spectacular and successful businesses. McGuinness always felt a calling to something greater but didn’t want to leave his career for entrepreneurship just yet.

He worked as a technology salesman in New York and took an hour and a half commute each way. McGuinness was successful in his job, but emotional...

Healthcare Firms Ripe for Ransomware Attacks During COVID
Healthcare companies long have been a prime target for hackers and scammers.
Last year’s Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report found that healthcare companies comprised 15% of breaches. The coronavirus now has only made such companies even more vulnerable to malicious outsiders.
Emsisoft threat analyst Brett Callow said that as many as 764 healthcare providers were affected by ransomware attacks last year.
Why do hackers love targe...

By Patrick W. Dunne – freelance writer for Digital Privacy News – follow him on LinkedIn or read his blog.
Email can be one of the least secure platforms out there. Every day, people freely exchange private information without regard for who might see it, or whose hands it could end up in.
You’re probably familiar with a few standard security tips, such as using strong passwords and avoiding spyware. However, many people overlook the importance of using encrypted email.
What is email encrypti...

Should you pay for the full bill or go dutch?
The idea that the man pays for the date is mired in tradition. Much like opening doors or giving the woman your coat, such etiquette has been passed down through generations. For a good reason too. These are generally seen as courteous and chivalrous ways to show respect for your date.
But paying for dates is still a contentious issue. You’ll find articles all over the internet about how people think you should or shouldn’t pay for a date. Even me...

By Patrick W. Dunne – freelance writer for Digital Privacy News – follow him on LinkedIn or read his blog.
In 2012, the European Commission sought to reform data privacy across the European Union (EU) and adapt to the technological age. After years of deliberation, the European Parliament published the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to replace outdated privacy-related laws from 1995. Two years later, GDPR became law.
What is GDPR?
GDPR is a set of laws that outlines the digital rig...

Earlier this year, Tesla Inc. sued an alleged malicious user who “conducted quite extensive and damaging sabotage” on the company.
The lawsuit contended that the accused made several destructive changes to Tesla’s source code and exported gigabytes of data to sell to a third party.
However, the disturbance did not come from a hacker group. It came from inside the company, based in Palo Alto, Calif.
The litigation claimed the former employee, Martin Tripp, used his inside knowledge to steal co...

I talked to Varonis Field CTO about insider threats and what companies can do to prevent them.