Pandemic Accelerated Opportunity for Post-life Cybercrimes T by Christopher W. Huziak, Final Security he world has gone digital. There is no denying that we are living in a digital world, and with that comes new risks and responsibilities. In 2019, there were an estimated 4.4 billion active internet users. With the upcoming emergence of 5G wireless technology, telecoms giant Ericsson projects more than 65% of the world population will have access to the internet by the end of 2025. A global pandemic accelerated this digital way of life. As COVID-19 swept across the world this past year, people focused on keeping safe by keeping apart. And they turned to digital technologies for everything from administrative tasks to virtual gatherings. As a result, digital footprints increased rapidly. What is a digital footprint, exactly? A digital footprint is the information that exists about a person online as a result of their internet activity. This can be everything from photos on social media to financial statements accessed online, and everything in between. Social security numbers. Medical records. Tax documents. Personal conversations. If someone has accessed or entered any of this information online, it’s part of his/ her digital footprint. Data shows just how intensely COVID-19 accelerated growth of digital footprints. For instance, at the onset of the pandemic last April, online banking services saw a 200% increase in new registrations, while online banking traffic rose 85%, according to Fidelity National Information Services. And according to data from IBM’s U.S. Retail Index, the pandemic accelerated the shift to digital shopping by roughly five years. Of course, with the worst of the pandemic behind us, people will get back to banking and shopping in-person, but the habits and comfort levels adopted are likely here to stay. And digital footprints just keep growing and growing. If you’ve entered information once, it’s part of your footprint forever. Digital footprints are a gold rush for cybercriminals. It’s increasingly important to safeguard digital legacies and assets before it’s too late. Cybercrimes often target the most defenseless: those who have passed on. Post-life cybercrime can create significant struggles and financial complications for families of the deceased. The problem: Our current system is slower than criminals According to AARP, it can take six months for financial institutions, credit reporting bureaus and the Social www.ogr.org | The Independent® 23
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