Cyber Attack Risk Awareness and Hard Copies
Cyber attack. It has been forewarned. It’s in the news. ‘They’ are telling us what’s possibly going to happen next. The United States faces the cyber equivalent of the World Trade Center attack, or you might say a cyber-Pearl Harbor. Such an attack could cripple the nation’s banking system, power grid, and other essential infrastructure.
All of a sudden, the power doesn’t work. There’s no way you can get money. Gas. You can’t get out of town. You can’t get online. And banking, as a function to make the world work, doesn’t work so well…
Without going into the terrible life threatening survival risks of a grid-down situation from a cyber attack, for this article topic, think about this…
Cyber Attack Affecting The Financial Infrastructure
Even if a major cyber attack does not focus on the power grid. But instead, the financial infrastructure, or parts thereof. Are you ready for that?
Many people do their banking, investment transactions, and bill pay online. What if these financial data centers were taken offline or corrupted via a cyber attack?
Do you have adequate ‘hard copy’ paperwork (statements) to support or backup your claims of a bank account or investment account? Do you even have the correct mailing addresses to these institutions (or phone numbers) that you might need? Or to simply communicate with them other than online?
Side Note: Though not insulated from cyber attack, I recommend a credit union rather than major banking institutions.
The suggestion I am trying to make is to put together a file folder – a collection of recent bank statements, addresses, contact information, etc. to support your position, should you ever need to prove it or deal with it offline.
Current Events – Prediction Of A Coming Major Cyber Attack
Given current events, I am shoring up my own end in this regard. Being sure that I have my own electronic copies (and recent hard copies) of bank statements, etc.
Even though I keep lots of info on my personal NAS (home network attached storage), hard copies are important too! So, I’m logging into my various accounts and downloading at least the most recent statements. And printing them.
It is very easy to become complacent and unknowingly dependent on the internet. But stop and think about it for a minute. What if a major cyber attack took away your ability to communicate with your banking institutions? Got a 401K or IRA? Kind of important, if you do…
Commit some time to downloading and printing out your recent data, your statements, and file it away. Since some of this information may be sensitive with account numbers or your personal information, it’s a good idea to keep this in a fireproof / waterproof safe or lock box. They’re not very expensive (compared to the value of what you’re keeping in there), and are good insurance.
What Copies Or Originals To Keep In A Home Safe
In no particular order, here is a list of ideas of items to keep in a home safe or lock box…
- Cash
- Bullion (not the kitchen kind)
- List of Contacts
- Bank statements
- Credit card information
- Tax records
- Real estate deeds
- Vehicle titles
- Important photos (e.g. on a USB thumb drive)
- Videos or photos of personal possessions for insurance purposes
- Household inventory
- Legal documents
- List of your passwords
- Thumb drive or portable hard drive with important electronic documents
- Birth, marriage, and death certificates
- Passports
- Wills
- Trust documents
- Living wills or medical directives
- Funeral or burial instructions
- Powers of attorney
- Insurance policies
[ Read: Frightening Scenario Of A Comprehensive Cyber Attack Which Will Bring A Complete Halt ]
Home Safe with Dial Combination
(sentry safe storefront on amzn)
