In the News: hurricane season comes to an end; Marriott reveals massive data breach; Resilience IPA to help CA fire relief

From the Milford Daily News, articles of interest for Franklin:

"The 2018 hurricane season began like a lazy river, a handful of circles spinning in an atmosphere still sleepy from spring. 

Only Subtropical Storm Alberto made contact with the U.S., splashing into Laguna Beach, Fla., at the end of May before the calendar even noted the official June 1 start date of storm season. Through August, it was called the “season of slop,” seemingly confirming forecasts for below average cyclonic activity. 

But then September came, the Atlantic basin caught fire, and two coasts would face the terrifying power of wind and water. 

By the last day of the 2018 hurricane season on Friday, the cyclone scoreboard included 15 named storms, including eight hurricanes and two major hurricanes of Category 3 or higher. A normal season typically has 12 named storms, including six hurricanes and two major hurricanes."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
https://www.milforddailynews.com/zz/news/20181130/2018-hurricane-season-ends-how-accurate-were-forecasters

Visit NOAA directly to read their summary
https://www.noaa.gov/media-release/destructive-2018-atlantic-hurricane-season-draws-to-end

Hurricane season 2018 ends

"Hackers stole information on as many as 500 million guests of the Marriott hotel empire over four years, obtaining credit card and passport numbers and other personal data, the company said Friday as it acknowledged one of the largest security breaches in history. 

The full scope of the failure was not immediately clear. Marriott was trying to determine if the records included duplicates, such as a single person staying multiple times. 

The affected hotel brands were operated by Starwood before it was acquired by Marriott in 2016. They include W Hotels, St. Regis, Sheraton, Westin, Element, Aloft, The Luxury Collection, Le Méridien and Four Points. Starwood-branded timeshare properties were also affected. None of the Marriott-branded chains were threatened. 

The crisis quickly emerged as one of the biggest data breaches on record."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
https://www.milforddailynews.com/zz/news/20181130/marriott-security-breach-exposed-data-of-up-to-500m-guests/1

"Sierra Nevada founder Ken Grossman sent letters to brewers across the country to invite them to participate in a collaborative brew day on Tuesday to brew the beer. They worked with malt and hop suppliers to provide ingredient donations so participating brewers could donate 100 percent of the sales of the beer to relief efforts. 

“We know that the rebuilding process will take time, but we’re in this for the long haul,” Grossman wrote in the announcement. “Our hope is to get Resilience IPA in taprooms all over the country to create a solid start for our community’s future.” 

In Massachusetts, at least 11 breweries have signed up to brew the Resilience IPA. 

For Wormtown Brewery in Worcester, it was an easy decision, brewmaster Ben Roesch said."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
https://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20181130/local-breweries-brew-beer-for-california-wildfire-relief

For more about Resilience IPA visit Sierra Nevada's page
https://sierranevada.com/resilience-butte-county-proud-ipa

For more about Resilience IPA visit Sierra Nevada's page

In the News: "The average voter shouldn’t be too concerned about foreign interference in elections"

From the Milford Daily News, articles of interest for Franklin:

"Americans are now voting in the first major election since Russians launched a broad assault on the 2016 presidential campaign. 

And while election officials and security experts remain vigilant through Election Day, voters have a critical role in the fight to keep elections safe and accessible. 

The average voter shouldn’t be too concerned about foreign interference in elections, said Maurice Turner, a senior technologist at the nonprofit Center for Democracy and Technology in Washington, D.C. But, he said, that doesn’t mean she should be passive about secure elections. 

By understanding the system, its flaws and what needs changing, voters can call for accountability from election officials and state policymakers.

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
https://www.milforddailynews.com/zz/news/20181104/voters-guide-to-election-security

The article doesn't get into specifics for MA or for Franklin. We do use paper ballots and the machines that tally each precinct total are not online or susceptible to hacking. The entire voter registration system for MA was built on a private network also reducing chances for hacking externally.

The Franklin Town Clerk has a well documented and executed plan for tallying the vote. She has police assistance at all times. Anyone who has voted at the high school should recall the police on duty.

As voters, we need to worry about how we are going to cast our ballot and not worry that it won't be counted.

The Franklin Town Clerk page with additional information
http://www.franklinma.gov/town-clerk

Additional info can be found in the 2018 Election Collection
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2018/10/election-collection-2018.html

Election Information for Nov 2018

FTC Consumer Alerts: New materials on cybersecurity for small business

New materials on cybersecurity for small business by Rosario Méndez Attorney, Division of Consumer and Business Education, FTC If you own a small business, you know it's critical to protect your business from cyber threats. Today (Oct 18, 2018), the FTC launched new cybersecurity resources for small businesses. What better time to check out these new resources than now – it's National Cybersecurity Awareness Month and this week's theme is cybersecurity at work. The campaign is co-branded with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the Small Business Administration (SBA). Read more https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2018/10/new-materials-cybersecurity-small-business?utm_source=govdelivery This is a free service provided by the Federal Trade Commission.

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FTC Alert: It’s National Cybersecurity Awareness Month

It's National Cybersecurity Awareness Month by Ari Lazarus Consumer Education Specialist, FTC October is spooky enough with its ghouls and goblins. National Cybersecurity Awareness Month is here to remind us how to stay safe and secure from real (and maybe even scarier) threats – malware and scammers. Read more  https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2018/10/its-national-cybersecurity-awareness-month?utm_source=govdelivery This is a free service provided by the Federal Trade Commission.

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In the News: brewing growth in Marlborough; MA election security improvements after November

From the Milford Daily News, articles of interest for Franklin:

"The brewing industry’s rapid growth in MetroWest over the past few years has reflected the overall growth of the industry. 

But for awhile, one of the larger MetroWest communities – Marlborough – went without a brewery as they continued to open in smaller surrounding communities such as Hudson and Westborough. 

But now that’s changing. By the end of this year, it’s expected there will be three breweries operating taprooms in the city, with a fourth planning to open in the spring of 2019. Marlborough is about to become a destination for craft beer fans throughout the state.

That is intentional, said Meredith Harris, executive director of the Marlborough Economic Development Corp. Last year, the corporation took out advertisements in beer magazines, offering incentives in the form of small business loans and help with permitting, to try to attract a brewery or two to downtown."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
https://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20180908/beer-entrepreneurs-take-liking-to-marlborough

"Massachusetts has received millions of dollars in federal funding to bolster election security, but most of it will not be spent until after the November election. 

The Bay State has received $7.9 million from the federal government, which election officials plan to spend on voting equipment, voter registration systems and cybersecurity, according to documents shared with Wicked Local. About 81 percent of the money, however, will be spent after the upcoming midterm election. 

State officials, nonetheless, say the federal dollars -- while helpful -- are not vital to running a safe and accurate election. 

“We were already spending money and resources from our existing budget on cybersecurity, so we were not dependent on the federal funding for 2018,” wrote Debra O’Malley, spokeswoman for Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin’s office. “This additional funding will be used to add to our existing preparations and for future elections.”

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
https://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20180908/state-to-spend-millions-on-election-security---after-november

MA election security improvements scheduled for after November

The Census Bureau Is Keeping Your Data Safe AUG. 13, 2018 The Census Bureau Is Keeping Your Data Safe Written by: Kevin Smith, Associate Director for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer, IT Directorate Protecting the data the U.S. Census Bureau collects is a critical part of our mission and our highest priority. We know the accuracy of our statistics depends on the accuracy of the data we collect. This means that the public must be able to trust us with their data so the Census Bureau can provide quality data about the people and economy of the United States. Some recent conversations in the public raised concerns about what we are doing to secure your data specifically for the 2020 Census. Our response was to address these concerns directly at the Census Bureau's next scheduled public forum, the 2020 Program Management Review, which was on August 3rd. My view of the underlying fear is "How do we know the Census Bureau is doing enough to protect our data if they are not saying enough about what they are doing?" I want to stress that our team has been doing everything we can to protect the data, but we are intentionally not saying everything we are doing. Our team is comprised of the Census Bureau, the Census Advisory Committees, federal oversight, the Federal Intelligence Community, and our industry partners. Our team knows the playbook, our collective skills, and our roles on the team to get the 2020 Census ahead of the game in cybersecurity. We have not shared our plans for cybersecurity with the public intentionally to not give the opposing team, adversaries wanting to discredit the federal government, an advantage. This is an ongoing communications challenge in cybersecurity that we will continue to pursue to ensure public confidence and trust in the Census Bureau.  It is important to state that Data Stewardship is engrained throughout the fabric of our culture. Every Census Bureau employee knows the importance of protecting respondent information from the beginning, when a respondent answers, to the end, when the statistical data products are released. Data Stewardship is a team effort including the people, processes, cybersecurity, and technology working together to protect data as dictated by law in Title 13. This is not new to the Census Bureau and encompasses decades of practice, training and behavior.  We have collaborated and coordinated across the federal government and industry to design the systems collecting data for the 2020 Census to secure your data while offering a fluid and balanced user experience. We have designed systems that employ best practice security techniques within our cloud technology to layer the entry into our systems, isolate responses from each other, and lock down data in a vault as quickly as possible after it is submitted. The operation of this design will help maintain the public's trust in us by allowing the Census Bureau to contain cybersecurity issues as soon as they are detected to protect data, while sustaining data collection services so respondents may continue to confidentially respond to the 2020 Census. We have put in place solutions that safeguard your data by encrypting the information, limiting access, and actively monitoring our systems to make sure the information stays secure. We have worked with the federal intelligence community and industry to put in place processes and technology to strengthen our cybersecurity posture and improve our incident response capabilities to proactively identify, detect, protect, respond and recover from potential cybersecurity issues as a collective unit. We continually work with cybersecurity experts to keep the technology protected and will continue to assure the public that responding to the Census Bureau, especially for the 2020 Census, is easy, safe, and important. Protection of your data is at the forefront of every decision we make at the Census Bureau. We take steps every day to protect your data. I recently described more in depth the areas in this blog and welcome you to review the recent 2020 Census Program Management Reviews (PMRs) if you want to learn more about how the Census Bureau is protecting your data. August 3, 2018 – 2020 Census Program Management Review https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/2020-census/planning-management/program-briefings/2018-08-03-pmr.html?eml=gd&utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery 2020 Census Cybersecurity Update, Kevin Smith, Associate Director for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial/2020/program-management/pmr-materials/08-03-2018/pmr-cybersecurity-08-03-2018.pdf?eml=gd&utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery  April 20, 2018 – 2020 Census Program Management Review https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/2020-census/planning-management/program-briefings/2018-04-20-pmr.html?eml=gd&utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery Updates on Cybersecurity and Systems Readiness, Update on Cybersecurity; Validating and Ensuring Data Integrity; and Update on Systems Readiness, Kevin Smith, Associate Director for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer; and Atri Kalluri, Chief, Decennial Information Technology Division https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial/2020/program-management/pmr-materials/04-20-2018/pmr-2020-systems-readiness-04-20-2018.pdf?eml=gd&utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery

There are many more ways you can stay connected with us! Join the conversation on social media by following us on:

CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA. 

"confidence in the integrity of elections isn’t derived from the machines, but from the whole process"

From the Milford Daily News, articles of interest for Franklin:

"Massachusetts voters cast ballots on paper, but that doesn’t mean the system is immune to cyberattacks – voting technology is just one piece of a puzzle. 

Over the last few years, several news reports have discussed the security of American voting systems. A 2016 Wired article warned that direct-recording electronic voting machines are “scarily easy targets.” And in April, Vox reported Congress wants states to use paper ballots for security reasons. But either way, WCVB-TV reported last year that officials believe the Massachusetts voting system is not vulnerable to hacks. 

That may be in part because the state is already using a paper ballot system, not the reportedly insecure e-voting machines. But more than 96 percent of the state’s precincts use optical scanning machines to tabulate votes, based on data made available by Verified Voting."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20180516/how-secure-are-massachusetts-voting-systems

voting booth at FHS gymnasium

"fixing the company’s problems will take years"

From the Milford Daily News, an article of interest for Franklin:

"Facebook revealed Wednesday that tens of millions more people might have been exposed in the Cambridge Analytica privacy scandal than previously thought and said it will restrict the user data that outsiders can access. 

Those developments came as congressional officials said CEO Mark Zuckerberg will testify next week, while Facebook unveiled a new privacy policy that aims to explain the data it gathers on users more clearly — but doesn’t actually change what it collects and shares. 

In a call with reporters Wednesday, Zuckerberg acknowledged he made a “huge mistake” in failing to take a broad enough view of what Facebook’s responsibility is in the world. He said it isn’t enough for Facebook to believe app developers when they say they follow the rules. He says Facebook has to ensure they do. 

Facebook is facing its worst privacy scandal in years following allegations that Cambridge Analytica, a Trump-affiliated data mining firm, used ill-gotten data from millions of users through an app to try to influence elections."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/zz/news/20180404/facebook-scandal-affected-more-than-first-thought---up-to-87m-users

FranklinMatters.org/

No, fixing the company's problems can be done in less time than that. All it takes is for a ground swell of users to delete their accounts. With no 'real' accounts, the accounts left on Facebook will be the fake ones.

With three options to reliably provide you access to Franklin Matters content, you don't need Facebook

1. The website FranklinMatters.org/ is reliable (subscribe via RSS feed or bookmark the page)
2. The daily newsletter delivers to your Inbox all the posts for that day (subscribe to receive the daily email)
3. The Twitter account shares the post at least once (follow the Twitter account @FranklinMatters)

Hence, the Franklin Matters Facebook page will go away

Download this copy to use the links to subscribe to one of the three alternatives
https://drive.google.com/file/d/19B5bywgJlZ_aYGSj-dX8lyhjTpkpvtkP/view?usp=sharing

Data Privacy Day is here; do you know where your data is?

The annual Data Privacy Day is here, so it is timely to share to more FTC Scam Alerts.

Data Privacy Day began in the United States and Canada in January 2008 as an extension of the Data Protection Day celebration in Europe. Data Protection Day commemorates the Jan. 28, 1981, signing of Convention 108, the first legally binding international treaty dealing with privacy and data protection. Data Privacy Day is observed annually on Jan. 28.

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Do Not Call registrations don’t expire

by Amy Hebert
Consumer Education Specialist, FTC

Someone pretending to be from the FTC is sending out fake emails telling people that their Do Not Call registration is expiring. The emails use the FTC’s logo and send people to a phony Do Not Call website to register their numbers again.

Don’t buy it. Do Not Call registrations never expire. Once you add a number to the Do Not Call Registry, you don’t need to register it again -- ever. We only remove your number when it’s disconnected and reassigned, or if you ask us to remove it.

Read more

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Scammers impersonate the Social Security Administration

by Ari Lazarus
Consumer Education Specialist, FTC

Your Social Security number is an important key for an identity thief. Scammers want it, and they think of all sorts of ways to trick you into giving it away.

Here at the Federal Trade Commission, we’re getting reports about calls from scammers claiming to be from the Social Security Administration. They say there’s been a computer problem, and they need to confirm your Social Security number.
Other people have told us that they have come across spoof websites that look like the place where you would apply for a new Social Security card – but these websites are actually a setup to steal your personal information.

Read more

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Find out more about data privacy and Stay Safe Online
https://staysafeonline.org/resource/stop-think-connect-tips-parents-raising-privacy-savvy-kids/

Find out about protecting your privacy online
https://staysafeonline.org/stay-safe-online/managing-your-privacy/

Data Privacy Day is here; do you know where your data is?

As Data Privacy Day approaches, do you know where your data is?

Data Privacy Day began in the United States and Canada in January 2008 as an extension of the Data Protection Day celebration in Europe. Data Protection Day commemorates the Jan. 28, 1981, signing of Convention 108, the first legally binding international treaty dealing with privacy and data protection. Data Privacy Day is observed annually on Jan. 28.

As parents/guardians you can share these tips about data privacy with your kids




Find out more about data privacy and Stay Safe Online
https://staysafeonline.org/resource/stop-think-connect-tips-parents-raising-privacy-savvy-kids/

Find out about protecting your privacy online
https://staysafeonline.org/stay-safe-online/managing-your-privacy/

As Data Privacy Day approaches, do you know where your data is?

In the News: computer chips need patching; Medway increases mailbox reimbursement

From the Milford Daily News, articles of interest for Franklin:

"Technology companies are scrambling to fix serious security flaws affecting computer processors built by Intel and other chipmakers and found in many of the world’s personal computers and smartphones. 

The two hardware bugs discovered can be exploited to allow the memory content of a computer to be leaked. Such a leak could potentially expose stored passwords and other sensitive data, including personal photos, emails and instant messages. 

Researchers at Google’s Project Zero and academic institutions including the Graz University of Technology in Austria discovered the problem last year and disclosed it Wednesday."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/zz/news/20180104/computer-chip-flaw-revealed-and-what-you-should-do-about-it

"Residents who have their mailboxes taken out by a plow during storms may see an increase in their reimbursement by the town. 

The Board of Selectmen this week voted to increase the amount the town offers to $50, up from $25. 

Town Administrator Michael Boynton raised the matter at the board’s Tuesday meeting, saying he felt $25 was on the low side. 

“I’m beginning to think $25 is from a day gone by,”′ he said, noting that the standard mailbox likely costs closer to $50."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20180104/medway-increases-mailbox-damage-reimbursement

Franklin's mailbox policy provides for reimbursement of $45

"The reimbursement amount for damaged mailboxes is $45.00. For a resident to receive a reimbursement, they are required to provide a paid receipt or invoice. The DPW will not pay more than $45.00 per incident per household per year. 

The Franklin DPW does not provide replacement mailboxes and will not perform any repairs to mailboxes. All receipts and invoices are due no later than May 15th of the current fiscal year."

http://www.franklinma.gov/public-works/news/updated-mailbox-policy-new-reimbursement

or here

http://www.franklinma.gov/snow-ice-removal/pages/mailbox-policy

The reimbursement amount for damaged mailboxes is $45

In the News: EPA details plan for cleanup; SEC reveals it was hacked in 2016

From the Milford Daily News, articles of interest for Franklin:

"The cleanup for ground pollution at a Superfund site could take up to 20 years, according to a fully drafted Community Action Plan. 

The draft highlights the planning and progress the Environmental Protection Agency has made regarding the cleanup and Superfund status at 300 Fisher St. 

In 2015, the EPA added the 18-acre property to the Superfund list, which makes the property eligible for state-funded cleanup. The Superfund law provides the EPA with the funds to clean up the sites and gives it authority to force the polluters to lead the efforts or reimburse the government for the work."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required) 
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20170921/franklin-fisher-street-cleanup-could-take-20-years

The Community Involvement Plan (CIP) can be found here
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2017/09/updated-community-involvement-plan-for.html

Updated Community Involvement Plan for the BJAT, LLC Superfund Site

"The federal agency responsible for ensuring that markets function as they should and for protecting investors was hacked last year and the intruders may have used the nonpublic information they obtained to profit illegally. 

The disclosure arrived two months after a government watchdog said deficiencies in the computer systems of the Securities and Exchange Commission put the system, and the information it contains, at risk. 

In July, the Government Accountability Office issued a critical report about the security measures employed by the SEC, citing a number of deficiencies in “the effectiveness of SEC’s controls for protecting the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of its information systems.” It issued 26 recommendations that it said would make SEC systems more secure. 

According to the SEC, the breach was discovered last year, but the possibility of illicit trading was uncovered only last month. It did not explain why the hack itself was not revealed sooner, or which individuals or companies may have been impacted."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required) 
http://www.milforddailynews.com/zz/news/20170921/fed-agency-urging-corporate-cybersecurity-upgrades-is-hacked

FTC Scam Alert: Equifax isn’t calling

Many Franklinites are likely among those affected by the Equifax breach (as I was). Hence, this is worthy of sharing!

Equifax isn't calling by Lisa Weintraub Schifferle Attorney, FTC, Division of Consumer and Business Education Ring, ring. "This is Equifax calling to verify your account information." Stop. Don't tell them anything. They're not from Equifax. It's a scam. Equifax will not call you out of the blue. Follow the link to read more This is a free service provided by the Federal Trade Commission.

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Also from the Federal Trade Commission - What to do
https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2017/09/equifax-data-breach-what-do

"Are Your Kids Addicted To Their Phones? 'Screenagers' Wants to Help"

"Are you watching kids scroll through life, with their rapid-fire thumbs and a six-second attention span? Physician and filmmaker Delaney Ruston saw that with her own kids and learned that the average kid spends 6.5 hours a day looking at screens. She wondered about the impact of all this time and about the friction occurring in homes and schools around negotiating screen time—friction she knew all too well.

In SCREENAGERS, as with her award-winning documentaries on mental health, Delaney takes a deeply personal approach as she probes into the vulnerable corners of family life, including her own, to explore struggles over social media, video games, academics and internet addiction. Through poignant, and unexpectedly funny stories, along with surprising insights from authors, psychologists, and brain scientists, SCREENAGERS reveals how tech time impacts kids’ development and offers solutions on how adults canempower kids to best navigate the digital world and find balance."

SCREENAGERS (Official Trailer) from Delaney Ruston on Vimeo.

More info can be found on their webpage  http://www.screenagersmovie.com/

In the News: Franklin's Liberatore on top team; Governor will let Legislature deal with marijuana sales tax

From the Milford Daily News, articles of interest for Franklin:

"A student cybersecurity team from MassBay Community College placed fourth at the National Cyber League 2016 Competition. The seven-member student team from MassBay, called the Segfault, was ranked fourth out of 144 teams nationwide, and included a Franklin resident. 

The team consisted of Andrew Liberatore, of Franklin, as well as Paul Buonopane, David Dew, Chester Moses, Timothy Ferguson, Corey Skinner and Fred Dolan. 

The students have been working together since the beginning of the fall 2016 semester and have competed in the preseason, regular season and postseason of the National Cyber League competition. The competition is held online in a cloud-based environment, where students compete to solve real problems. The MassBay team was given problems to solve that replicate what it might face in the real world if its company fell victim to hackers. The team dissected the problems to find solutions, which included downloading files, decryption to view passwords and analyzing information on the attack."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20161220/massbay-community-college-places-fourth-in-cyber-league-competition

http://www.massbay.edu/

"Gov. Charlie Baker couldn't quite bring himself on Monday to say he would support a higher tax rate on retail marijuana sales, but he didn't rule it out either. 

"I'm going to let the Legislature kick this one around a little, " Baker said during his monthly appearance on WGBH's "Boston Public Radio" show. "No, no, no, no," he added as clarification when host Jim Braude brought up a possible veto threat. 

Several prominent Democrats, including Treasurer Deborah Goldberg and Senate President Stanley Rosenberg, have been open with their belief that the 3.75 percent retail sales tax on pot is too low, and will be up for debate when the Legislature considers changes in the new year to the legalization law that went into effect last Thursday. 

The ballot law stipulated a 3.75 percent excise tax on marijuana that would be added to the state's 6.25 percent sales tax, effectively taxing pot at 10 percent to start. Cities and towns have the ability to add an additional sales tax of up to 2 percent on top of that."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20161220/baker-leaving-pot-tax-debate-to-legislature-for-now

Note: The Franklin Town Council takes up the measure that would add 2% for the local portion of the tax at the meeting scheduled for Weds, Dec 21.

http://www.franklinmatters.org/2016/12/franklin-ma-town-council-agenda-122116.html