The Digital Footprint You Didn't Know You Were Leaving

Your name. Your city. Your job title. Your relatives' names. It's all out there — and attackers don't need to hack you when they can just look you up. 

In this episode of SipCyber, Jen Lotze settles in at Pryes Brewing — brick walls, big windows, the river just outside — with a hop water in hand and something worth saying: most of us spend our lives trying to be known, but online, a little strategic obscurity might be the best defense you've never considered. 

The data broker ecosystem is massive, largely invisible, and actively feeding the phishing emails and vishing calls that feel unsettlingly personal. That text that knew your city. That call that referenced your coworker's name. That's not magic — that's aggregated public data being weaponized against you. 

Key Topics Covered:  

How attackers use publicly available personal data to manufacture trust  Why "people search" sites are a threat actor's first stop  Yael Privacy Lab's data broker opt-out list — free and practical  The Intel Techniques workbook for manual removal  Paid services (DeleteMe, Optery) that automate and monitor removals  How Google's subscription tools can alert you to new exposures 

This isn't about going off the grid. It's about being a little harder to find — and a lot harder to fool. 

🍺 Featured Spot: Pryes Brewing 

You can't control every breach — but you can control how much is floating out there about you. Subscribe for weekly cybersecurity insights from the best local spots across the country, and share this with someone whose name is probably on one of those sites right now. 

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