The Cool Tool Helping Everyday Citizens Track Cyber Attacks in Real Time

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Recent leaks revealing NSA surveillance tactics by former Booz Allen contractor Edward Snowden have drawn renewed attention to cybersecurity. As more and more of our lives become dependent on, and connected through, the Internet, the US government and regular citizens are in ever increasing need of tools to help them understand the threat.

Enter: Threatwatch, a regularly updated online catalog of data breaches affecting every sector of society around the world. Combining real time monitoring of data breaches with information gathered from published accounts of cyber attacks, Threatwatch is designed to help visitors grasp the scope of cyber threats as well as understand how they can better protect themselves.

(Look: Watch cyber attacks as they happen in real time via Threatwatch)

Aliya Sternstein, NextGov senior correspondent and Threatwatch curator, recently spoke with us on the Excellence in Government Podcast about how the need for a tool like Threatwatch has never been greater.

“[Cyber attacks are] hitting people regardless of how much money they have or how powerful they are,” said Sternstein, citing an increased awareness of the indiscriminate nature of cyber breaches among government organizations and everyday citizens alike. “As you’re reading the incidents [on Threatwatch], you can see how the hackers got into these systems and, knowing how the trick was pulled off, reverse engineer the hack so you can better protect yourself.”

To hear the entire interview, listen or subscribe to the Excellence in Government Podcast. 

Learn more about Threatwatch.