Avoid the Dangers of Social Media

Avoid the Dangers of Social Media

Free April 12 “Hacking the Human” webinar to share tips for keeping
personal data safe on Facebook and other social platforms

PHOENIX, Ariz. (April 5, 2018) – With recent news that the Cambridge Analytica-Facebook data compromise was larger than originally thought, with up to 87 million people affected, more people are questioning just how safe their personal conversations, photos and other data are on social media platforms.

While Facebook has been in the spotlight, Michael Cocanower, president and CEO of Phoenix-based itSynergy, said plenty of other companies collect the same type of information and could experience a similar fate.

Cocanower, a cybersecurity expert and certified ethical hacker who has been recognized nationally and locally for his IT expertise, will conduct a free, 15-minute “Dangers of Social Media” webinar on Thursday, April 12 at 11:30 a.m. Participants will receive step-by-step instructions regarding how to download and review their Facebook data archive. Cocanower will also share tips for protecting data on other social media platforms. Interested participants should register at https://itsynergy.com/webinar.

“In many ways, I think this recent incident with Facebook has more people concerned than the Equifax breach last September. Having your social security number and birthday exposed is alarming, but the thought of having your phone call and text message activity and other psychographic data exposed has a lot of people on edge, and rightfully so.”

While most of the outrage has been focused on how third-party firms like Cambridge Analytica could obtain and misuse personal data, Cocanower is even more concerned about how cyber criminals are accessing sensitive data via social media.

“Social media has increasingly become the primary tool of cyber criminals from common thieves to nation states,” he said. “During the webinar, we’ll expose some of the latest techniques so participants can recognize sneaky tricks and build a strong cyber wall of defense.”

The “Hacking the Human” webinars take place at 11:30 a.m. on the second Thursday of each month. The webinars are geared towards non-technical end users in business at any level in the company. Each webinar provides useful tips to ward off cyberattacks and more complex social engineering schemes that result in theft and corporate espionage.

For more information, call itSynergy at (602) 297-2400 or visit www.itsynergy.com.

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About Michael Cocanower, President and CEO of itSynergy

He has his black belt in the Kung Sul division of Hwa Rang Do, a Korean martial art, so it’s fitting that Michael Cocanower’s passion is helping small and medium-sized businesses defend themselves against malicious cyber intruders. A Phoenix native, Cocanower founded itSynergy in 1997, and under his leadership, the company has experienced exponential revenue growth. A long-standing Microsoft Partner, itSynergy provides strategic technology management services for small and mid-sized organizations on a fixed monthly fee. Cocanower has received numerous awards and widespread industry recognition throughout his career, including being named one of 20/20 Visionaries in Channel Pro Network magazine’s May 2016 issue. The magazine regularly turns to him for input on current IT trends, and called him a “shrewd and articulate observer of the SMB market.” In addition, the Arizona chapter of Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) recently appointed Cocanower to the board of directors as membership chair.

Media Contact:
Sue Kern-Fleischer, PublicizeThis!, (602) 810-1404, sue@publicizethis.com