Another day, another data breach is reported.  This time at Dell.  And it’s a biggy.  Huge, in fact, with a staggering 49 million users being affected.

Dell has kicked off a notification blitz, reaching out to affected parties to disclose an unauthorised intrusion into their online repository, housing crucial customer data and purchase records.

Now, before you start sweating, here’s a silver lining. It appears that only personal particulars were filched, leaving financial data unscathed, according to Dell’s disclosure. Names, addresses, and purchase specifics were the loot from this system infiltration.

So, whether you’ve recently (any time since 2017) splurged on a Dell laptop, desktop, or peripherals, here’s the lowdown on the breach and some survival tips to navigate the aftermath.

Tips:

• Be wary from any emails, phone calls or snail mail purporting to be from Dell.  If in doubt, refer to your IT Support team.
• Don’t respond to any requests for payment from Dell that you were not expecting.  Again, your IT Support team will be happy to check things out for you if you aren’t sure.
• Watch out for any USB drives being sent to you directly.  NEVER plug these in under any circumstances.
• In any data breach, we normally recommend changing passwords on the compromised site.  On this occasion, Dell report that they believe no financial data has been disclosed, so changing passwords is less imperative.  There is very little downside to changing your password though.
• Review your email protection and security software.  Ensure it is up to date and configured correctly.

So, there you have it, folks. Keep your wits about you amidst this storm, and with a bit of luck, we’ll navigate through unscathed.