Bart McDonough attended the University of Oklahoma and received his undergraduate degree from the University of Connecticut. He is CEO and Founder of Agio, a hybrid managed IT and cybersecurity services provider where he and his more than 250 employees have developed cybersecurity and managed IT tools tailored to protect businesses’ most precious assets: money and reputation. Bart is currently on the board of two cybersecurity firms, TwoSense.AI and Magnus Cloud and has just released his debut book “Cyber Smart: Five Habits to Protect Your Family, Money, and Identity from Cyber Criminals.” This easy to read guide simplifies good cyber hygiene and debunks common cybersecurity myths to help readers protect themselves and their families from identity theft, fraudulent schemes, hacking and more.

Cybersecurity can be a complicated subject because the Internet has overtaken everything, from banking, healthcare and personal communication. As an expert in the cybersecurity field, in “Cyber Smart,” Bart McDonough “combines his knowledge with real-world examples of cyberattacks and how to prevent them as well as how to recover from them.” It begins with the Introduction, where the author provides specific recommendations anyone can use to protect themselves against cyberattacks and scams including: Update Your Devices, Enable Two-Factor Authentication, Use a Password Manager, Install and Update Antivirus and Back-Up Your Data. The book is divided into twenty-one chapters, proof that he covers almost every subject imaginable, including Overview of Cyber Risks, Attack Targets and Goals, Attack Methods, Incident Response, Protecting Your Identity, Protecting Your Money and Protecting Your Social Media.

“Cyber Smart” makes cybersecurity accessible to the general public by being easy to read, informative and extremely organized. Readers can read it cover to cover to gain valuable information to protect their daily digital lives or pick a subject/chapter, by using the Index, to increase their knowledge and become better prepared to deal with the risks. This useful guide not only touches on the risks associated with an increasingly plugged-in society, but gives insights into how hackers think, why they do what they do, and what they do with stolen information. In Chapter 5: Attack Targets and Goals, Mr. McDonough explains that in the healthcare industry, stolen ‘personally identifiable information’ (PII) is used to gain access to healthcare treatment, prescription dugs and medical equipment. It is best to keep in mind that these attacks are not personal, that “bad actors are looking to get rich off the attacks they perform.” Stand out chapters include Chapter 4: Attack Methods where he explains the different scams, including Malware, Crypto mining and Spyware and recommends using multiple email addresses for different purposes, such as banking, social media and shopping; and Chapter 9: Incident Response where he goes into details about what to do once an attack occurs. The definitive reference guide for cybersecurity, “Cyber Smart” is recommended for readers who understands that the risks are out there and are looking to arm themselves with the knowledge to protect their digital lives.

“There are around 4,000 data brokers in the United States that are in the business of purchasing and selling personal information – things we would normally not share with others, let alone give knowing permission to corporations to store and resell it.”

*The author received a copy of this book for an honest review. The views and opinions expressed here belong solely to her.