Consumers Now Have Even Greater Control of Their Digital Footprint While Minimizing Cybersecurity Risks Associated with Personal Data Misuse
Bitdefender, a global cybersecurity leader, today announced it has enhanced Bitdefender Digital Identity Protection, a comprehensive service that monitors personal data in real-time by proactively scanning the internet including public sites, dark web, and underground forums for unauthorized leaks and data breaches that may put user accounts and identity at risk. The service now connects to Google Gmail and Microsoft Outlook webmail providers to significantly expand monitoring reach and give users a more complete view and better control of their digital footprint (including old and forgotten accounts).
Identity theft remains a significant risk for consumers. According to data from the Federal Trade Commission, in 2023, consumers indicated losses exceeding $10 billion due to fraud, marking a 14% rise in reported losses compared to 2022. Additionally, the Identity Theft Resource Center 2023 Data Breach Report released in early 2024, revealed there were 3,205 publicly reported data compromises in the US, with an estimated impact on more than 350 million individuals.
“The convenience of today’s digital lifestyle has increased risk for consumers worldwide. Each time passwords, and personal or financial information are entered in an app or website for shopping, banking, healthcare and social media – netizens inadvertently heighten their exposure to identity-related crimes like data breaches and extortion,” said Ciprian Istrate, senior vice president, Bitdefender Consumer Solutions Group. “Bitdefender Digital Identity Protection continuously scans the web (including dark web) for unauthorized leaks of personal data and alerts in real-time so users can quickly act by changing passwords, deleting accounts, or freezing credit cards before a serious incident occurs. It enables users to enjoy online activities knowing their identity and personal data are guarded.”
Bitdefender Digital Identity Protection acts like a guardian constantly keeping watch over personal information and how it is used including email addresses, passwords, social security numbers (U.S.), credit card numbers, phone numbers and other pieces of sensitive data useful to cybercriminals.
Key Features include the following:
- Continuous Identity Protection Monitoring – Bitdefender Digital Identity Protection continuously monitors the internet and dark web to protect against the misuse of personal information. New integrations with Google Gmail and Microsoft Outlook webmail vastly expand the monitoring reach of the service, adding hundreds more websites and services which increase the visibility of a users’ digital identity footprint including old accounts that may have been forgotten.
- Real-Time Alerting – Bitdefender Digital Identity Protection sends instant alerts when personal information is discovered in public data breaches or in cases of misuse such as account take-overs, social media hijacking, and financial fraud. Alerts are sent with actionable insights allowing users to quickly respond based on the type of data leaked and immediate risk level.
- Enhanced Control over Personal Data Use – Users gain greater understanding and control of how a business or service provider uses/stores their data. With a few clicks, users can request a copy of personal data that has been collected or ask for complete deletion of their data.
- Enhanced Identity Protection Score – The Identity Protection Score is a unique feature that gives users a benchmark on how well their identity is currently protected based on the type of personal information that has been exposed and number of breaches they are linked to – the higher the score the better. This feature offers details on specific actions that led to a lower score, how the score compares to others, and ways to improve the score such as deleting old accounts.
- Easy Setup, Nothing to Install, Simple Interface – Setup is just a few quick steps and there is nothing to download or install. After an account is created, Bitdefender Digital Identity Protection gets to work monitoring and safeguarding personal information working seamlessly alongside other security solutions running on computer or mobile device with zero impact on performance. The interface is simple and intuitive, having a familiar look and feel as other Bitdefender products.
- Robust Reporting – Bitdefender Digital Identity Protection delivers comprehensive, easy to understand reporting with rich visualizations to help users understand their digital identity footprint, exposure to data breaches, Identity Protection Score, and comparatives against the global community.
Availability
Bitdefender Digital Identity Protection is available now as a standalone subscription service or through an all-in-one plan including Bitdefender Ultimate Security or Bitdefender Premium Security. The service can be accessed across any device and supports all major operating systems including Windows, macOS, iOS and Android. For more information or to purchase, visit https://www.bitdefender.com/solutions/digital-identity-protection.html.
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