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Communicationtechnology,fromphonestoFacebook,hasbeenimprovingourlivesformorethanacentury.Asahappysideeffect,theproliferationofdigitaldeviceshasmadelifeeasierforpeoplewithhearingloss.Howmanyofushavetoldsomeonerecently,“Insteadofcalling,whydon’tyoujustemail(ortext)me?”However,alongwiththebenefits,technologyhasalsomagnifiedtheeaseandspeedofthoseage-oldpracticesoffraudandharassment,nowknownashackingandscamming.AttheDenverChapter’sOctober20meeting,programspecialistJessicaKroughoftheAARP’sElderWatchprogramreviewedthewaysthievesmayinfiltrateourpersonallivesandtrytoharmus,andsuggestedwayswecanprotectourselves.AnyonecanbeatargetDespitethefactthatBillGatesis63thisyear,asthelateSteveJobswouldhavebeen,thereisageneralbeliefthatolderpeoplearenaïveaboutcomputertechnology—hencetheAARPprogramstoaddressthis.Jessicaexplainsthatnoone,regardlessofageortechnicalknowledge,isimmunetoever-evolvingmethodsofstealingandmisusingprivateinformation.Newsreportsconstantlyconfirmthis.“Consumersofeveryage,andateveryleveloftechnicalexpertise,lackonlinesafetyeducation,”shesays.“Forexample,peopleoftenclickalinkorreplytoanemailwithoutthinking.”Inthecourseofusingcomputerstogoaboutdailybusiness,peoplemayprovidepubliclyaccessibleinformationthatexposesthemtofraud.Theexposuremaycomefromonlineproductsand
servicesthatarenotprotected.JessicanotesthatlawsanddatasecuritystandardsoftencannotkeepupwiththerapidgrowthofInternetcapabilitiesanduse.Unfortunately,oftencriminalsarethefirsttonoticesecuritylapsesandfindwaystoexploitthem.Individualsaren’ttheonlyvictimsofharmfulexposure.Corporationsandgovernmentshavetroublestayingaheadofhackers.Inrecentyears,healthcareprovidershavebeenincreasinglytargetedasrichsourcesofpersonalinformationandevenblackmail(forcinghospitals,forinstance,topaytogettheirdataback).In2015,therewere110millionsecurityincidentsreportedtotheUSDepartmentofHealthandHumanServices(HHS),affectingtwo-thirdsofhealthcareorganizations.Oneaspectoftheproblemisthatpatientsaresharingsomeoftheinformationtheirdoctorsaretryingto
Meetings: Third Saturday of the month 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Englewood Public Library 1000 Englewood Parkway Englewood, CO 80110 (Hampden and Inca)
President: Bernie Steinberg 303-756-1107; [email protected]
Vice President: Bob Haigh 303-789-5986; [email protected]
Secretary: Marilyn Weinhouse [email protected] Treasurer: Miki Seeley
303-757-7302; [email protected] News editor: Paula DeJohn
303-617-6135 [email protected]
Hearinglossdenver.org © 2018 HLAA-Denver Chapter. All rights reserved.
November 2018 Denver Chapter News
HLAA’s mission: To provide information, education, support and advocacy for people with hearing loss
Enjoy technology, but protect your privacy
SpeakerJessicaKroughandchapterpresidentBernieSteinbergsharealightmoment.
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protect.AsUniversityofColoradoHealthSystemchiefmedicalinformationofficerC.T.Lin,MD,toldameetingofhealthcareITexecutives,“Patientshaveprivacyrights,buttheycansharetheirdetailsonFacebook.”DialingfordollarsThetelephonehaslongbeenapopulartoolformarketingandsoliciting.Newertechnologyhassimplyincreasedthenumberofoptions,suchasrecordedrobocalls,computer-generatedcallstorandomnumbers,andfalsecallerIDnumbers.Inmostcases,unwantedcallsaremerelyannoyingsolicitationsforproductsorcandidates,oropinionsurveys.Withtraditionallandlines,itwasnecessarytoanswerthecalltoknowthecaller.Withsmartphones,theincomingnumberisusuallyvisible,andthecallercanleaveamessage.“Ifit’sanumberthatyoudon’tknow,don’tanswerit,”isJessica’sadvice.YoucanalsoplacenumbersontheNationalDoNotCallRegistrybycalling888-382-1222orvisitingdonotcall.gov.Phoneserviceprovidersalsocanhelpblockcallsonrequest.Meanwhile,ifanunknowncaller,evenonefromafamiliar-soundingorganization,asksforpersonalorfinancialinformation,orannouncesa“specialoffer”,hangupandcall800-222-4444,aconsumerprotectionservicesponsoredbyElderWatchandthestateattorneygeneral’soffice.Hackablehearingaids?AgrowingnumberofhearingaidsareconnectedthroughBluetoothtechnologywithphonesandcomputers.Thatmeanstheyarepotentiallysusceptibletohacking.TheFoodandDrug
Administration(FDA)monitorsmedicaldevicesandcanwithholdapprovalofthosethatdonotmeetitscybersecuritystandards.Sofar,notherehavebeennoreportsofhackingincidentsinvolvinghearingaids.“ItlooksliketheFDAisdoingagoodjobofkeepingthesesecure,”Jessicasays.GonephishingEmailhasbecomesopopularandconvenientthatitiseasytoforgethowvulnerableourmessagesaretotheelectronicversionofmailtheft.Wemaytrytolimitouremailcontacts,butsomehowthoseforeignprincesfindouraddressesandofferusmoneyinexchangeforourbankaccountnumbers.Orour“bestfriends”writetosaytheyarestrandedinadistantcityandwouldwepleasewirethemmoney?
Thisiscalledhacking:obtainingillegalaccesstosomeone’semailaccountandusingittodefraudthemorsomeoneelse.It’sgreattohearfromdistantfriendsorcolleaguesorgrandchildren,butverifybeforesendingthemmoneyorpersonalinformation.[Disclosure:Thishappenedtome!]Anexampleofspamistheoffermentionedabove,tosendmoneyfromabroad.Anyunsolicitedofferorattempttodistributefalseorobjectionableinformationislikelyspam.Examplesincludepyramidschemes,money-makingchainletters,creditcardandcreditrepairscams,bogusweight-lossplans,andfraudulentbusinessopportunities.Phishingisadifferentmethodofobtainingpersonalinformationforfraudulentpurposes.Anemailthat
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appearstocomefromalegitimatebusiness,museumorcharityissenttoalargegroupofrandomaddresses.Thesenderthenwaitsforrecipientstoreply.Witheachclick,thesendergetsthenameandaccountinformationofapersonthesendernowknowsisreal,andatleastsomewhatgullible.Thatclick,Jessicanotes,couldbeon“reply”oronalink,orevenonthe“unsubscribe”optionbelowtheemail.Catchingsucha“phisher”canbetricky.InJessica’sexample,theBankofAmericaappearstobethesender,withitsfamiliarlogotoppingthescreen.Butthetextandlinkshavesuspiciouscharacters.Oneitemwecanalllearntocheckforiswhetherasender’swebaddressissecure.Doesitbeginhttps//?Orjusthttp//?The“s”denotesasecuresite.Anotherdefenseistoneverclickonalink.Thelonglineofcharacterscaneasilyincludecodestolaunchavirus.Sometimestheviruscodeisnotevenvisible.Ifyouwanttogothere,retypethelinkcharactersorcopyandpastethem.Onasmartphone,pressandholdtohighlightandcopythelink.Thebestpolicy,Jessicaadvises,istonotevenopenstrangeemails.Reportthemasscam,orjunk,asyouremailproviderdesignates.UnsocialmediaThesameprecautionsforprotectingemailapplytosocialmediasuchasFacebookandTwitter.Thesesitesmakeiteasytoconnectwithmanypeopleatonce,tosharephotosandnews,andtostayintouchwiththeworldatlarge.However,itcanbedifficulttocontrolwhathappensafteryoupostinformationonthesesites.Profilescanbehijackedorsimulated.Aswithemails,avoidrespondingtomessagesfromstrangersorunsolicitedoffers.Rememberthatanypersonalinformationyoumaypostcanpotentiallyreachanyoneelse.Therefore,thinktwicebeforeposting.Donotsendmoneyanddonotclickonlinksautomatically.Chris,aveteranFacebookuser,offerstheseadditionalhints:“WhensomeonesendsmeamessageposingassomeoneIknow,theyusuallyvanishwhenIaskthem,‘Howdoweknoweachother?Arewefamily?’“
Toheadoffhackingofyouraccount,headvises,“Setwhocanseeyourfriendslistinyourprivacysettingsto‘onlyme.’Hackerscreateafakeprofileusingyourpicture,thenstarttargetingpeopleinyourfriendslist.Iftheycan’tseeyourfriendslist,theyhavenothingtoworkwith.”PasswordsandmorePasswords,Jessicanotes,shouldbetreatedlikeunderpants:“Changethemoften,keepthemprivate,andneversharethemwithanyone.”Withsomanywebsitesdemandingspecificpasswordcharacters,itmaybedifficulttokeeptrackofthemanyvariations.Jessicahasthissuggestion:“Researchsuggestsusingapass-phraseratherthanapassword,somethingeasyforyoutorememberbuthardforascammertoguess.”Recently,manyorganizationshavebegunfollowingthecustomofhigh-securityinstitutionsandrequiringasecondformofauthenticationforaccess.Aftersubmittingausernameandpassword,theusermayberequiredtoansweraquestionsuchas“Wherewasyourfatherborn?”ortowaitforauniquecodetobe
senttoadifferentdevice,suchasasmartphone.Evenwithgoodpasswordprotection,donottrustWi-Finetworksinpublicplaceslikecoffeeshops,Jessicawarns.“Youjustdon’tknowwhoelseisoutthere,”shesays.Makeapracticeofdoublecheckingthenameofapublicnetworkbeforejoining,andneveruseitforbankingoranyfinancialtransactions.HowardHaile,whoischiefinformationsecurityofficeratSCL
HealthinDenver,adviseshospitalsineffortstoprotectpatientinformation,andherecommendsrestrictingaccesstoworkstationsanddevices.Whileprotectingofficeequipmentfromunauthorizedemployeesisimportantfordatasecurity,itmakessensetoapplytheprincipletoprivateuseaswell:Leavingphonesaroundandcomputersoninabusyhouseholdcouldbeinvitinglossofprivacy.
—PaulaDeJohn
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Hearing research sparks Bell’s historic invention
Advancesincommunicationtechnologyliterallyowetheiroriginstopeoplewithhearingloss.In1876AlexanderGrahamBellreceivedhishistory-makingpatentforthetelephone,whichhedevelopedinthecourseofresearchonelectronichearingdevicesforthedeaf.Healsodesignedtheaudiometer,whichisusedtotesthearing.Inhisearlycareer,Belltutoreddeafstudentsandtaughtspeechtherapytoinstructorsatseveralschoolsforhearing-impairedstudents.Hisownmotherandwifeweredeaf.
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Meeting programs DenverChaptermemberWynneWhymanwillspeakattheNovember17meetingaboutherexperienceatthe2018nationalHLAAconventioninMinneapolis.ThenextconventionwillbeJune20-23,2019,inRochester,NY.TherewillnotbeaformalmeetinginDecember.OnDecember8therewillbeaholidaypartyforchaptermembersandguestsfromnoonto2p.m.atGreenMountainUnitedMethodistChurch,12755WCedarDrive,Lakewood,CO80228.Thereisnochargetoattend,andfoodwillbeprovidedbytheTexasRoadhouse.
Upcoming events Formoreinformationabouttheseevents,checkthewebsitewww.hearinglosscolorado.org.Saturday,November10GrandJunctionTinnitusSupportGroup1p.m.-2p.m.ColoradoSpringsChaptermeeting1p.m.-3p.m.Saturday,November17DenverChaptermeeting1p.m.-3p.m.Thursday,December6CCDHHDBcommissionmeetingandcommunityforum4p.m.-7p.m.Saturday,December8DenverChapterholidaypartyNoon-2p.m.GrandJunctionTinnitusSupportGroup1p.m.-2p.m. Turn it down! Loudmusicisn’tjustannoying;itoftenleadstohearingloss.HLAAestimatesthat12.5percentofyoungpeopleaged6to19havehearinglossduetoloudmusic,andtheconditionisespeciallycommonforthosewhouseearbudsathighvolumes.HLAA
alsofoundthat20%ofAmericanteenagershavesomehearinglossfromvariouscauses.Inotherstatistics,48millionAmericanshavehearingloss,andtwotothreeoutofevery1,000babiesbornintheU.S.hasdetectablehearingloss.Yearly dues TreasurerMikiSeeleyisnowacceptingmembershipduesfor2019.Duesare$15fortheyearandcovermeetingroomsandspeakersaswellasluncheverymonth.BringachecktotheNovember17meetingorcontactMikiatseeley60@aol.com.Newsletter deadlines TheDenverChapterNewsispublishedonlineonoraboutthefirstofeverymonth.Tosubmitanewsitem,contacttheeditoratpaula.dejohn@yahoo.com.Thedeadlineforeachissueisthedayofthepreviousmonth’smeeting.
In other news… ChaptersecretaryMarilynWeinhouseunveilsthenewchapterbusinesscard,forhandingouttoprospectivemembers.
