Privacy Pandemic

How Cybercriminals Determine Targets, Attack Identities, and Violate Privacy—and How Consumers, Companies, and Policy-Makers Can Fight Back

by Christopher A. Smith

After mounting red flags caused him to end a relationship, Chris soon found his digital life under attack: his accounts were compromised, emails and texts were intercepted, Social Security number was stolen—they even hacked his mother’s home WiFi router. 

Chris would soon learn cybercriminals had targeted him in one of the most extensive, twisted cases of digital identity theft known by experts. But unfortunately, he also discovered that he’s not alone but rather is another casualty in an Information Age plague that threatens the finances and digital safety of individuals, companies, and governments worldwide.

Privacy Pandemic is the story of Chris’s fight against the fraudsters who tried to steal his life—and who continue to attack him to this day.

Once he recovered from the shock and betrayal, he vowed to bring his attackers to justice and assembled a team of experts in the US and abroad—attorneys, digital forensics specialists, and law enforcement agents—and began relentlessly building an active case. 

But this is about more than Chris’s story. It’s about everyone’s story.

As Chris discovered when he tried to hold his attackers accountable, keeping vital personal information safe in the digital age is incredibly difficult. 

Privacy Pandemic is not only a firsthand account of what happens when one is targeted by sophisticated cybercriminals—it’s also a guide for readers on how to stay safe in a dangerous digital world. Chris details the companies, software, tools, and practices that give us all the best chance of preventing security breaches and their disastrous consequences. 

He shares how he’s turned personal loss and hardship into professional triumph, ensuring that the power to protect personal information as much as possible is where it belongs: in the hands of consumers.