It’s Data Privacy Week 2026. To mark the occasion, we’re sharing some tips to help you stay more private and better protect yourself from the dangers of personal data exploitation. Whether it takes the form of phishing, smishing, vishing, password cracking, impersonation, identity fraud, Account Takeover (ATO), or Business Email Compromise (BEC), the weaponization of personalContinue reading "Data Privacy Week 2026: Reducing Personal Data Exposure and Preventing Exploitation"

Thank you for being part of the Optery community in 2025! Whether you’re one of the hundreds of thousands of individuals and families protecting your personal information with us, or one of the hundreds of businesses preventing cyber and physical threats with our help, we are deeply grateful for your trust and partnership. 2025 wasContinue reading "Optery 2025 Recap"

Maryland has become the latest state to enact a comprehensive privacy law. Signed in May 2024, the Maryland Online Data Privacy Act (MODPA) took effect October 1, 2025, with enforcement beginning April 1, 2026 under the Maryland Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division. Maryland is the sixteenth state with a comprehensive privacy law to take effect,Continue reading "New Privacy Law in Maryland with Authorized Agent Provisions"

Optery for Business GM Paul Mander recently joined cybersecurity expert and host David Raviv on the Unscripted Podcast to reveal how personal data is collected, sold, and weaponized, and how Optery helps individuals and companies fight back. From cookies to data brokers to playing offense against social engineering, this episode covers it all. Paul satContinue reading "Data Brokers, Social Engineering, and Enterprise Security: Optery’s Paul Mander on the Unscripted Podcast"

CrowdStrike’s 2025 Global Threat Report reveals adversaries are increasingly using identity compromise and social engineering to gain initial access and perform lateral movement.  In 2024, CrowdStrike Intelligence tracked a sharp rise in distinct campaigns leveraging telephone-based social engineering for initial access, including vishing and help desk impersonation tactics. Multiple adversaries incorporated vishing into their intrusionsContinue reading "CrowdStrike’s 2025 Global Threat Report Reveals Phone-Based Social Engineering Is Surging"

A newly leaked trove of internal chat logs has exposed how the Black Basta ransomware gang leverages data broker info to research and target their victims. Black Basta is a notorious Russian-language ransomware group responsible for hundreds of cyberattacks on critical infrastructure and businesses worldwide. Known for its aggressive tactics, Black Basta has targeted majorContinue reading "Leaked Chat Logs Reveal Black Basta’s Use of Data Brokers for Targeting Victims"

The vast majority of cyber attacks today begin with social engineering: the act of using exposed personal data to manipulate human targets into providing unauthorized access to an organization’s systems or data. As cybercriminals increasingly target the human element, social engineering has become the number one threat to businesses, leading to account takeovers, data breaches,Continue reading "Social Engineering Attacks and How Organizations Can Prevent and Defend Against Them"