Cyber tips, tools & one smart career path from your Cyber Bestie.
5 min read
Quick Reality Check
McDonald’s Application Chat Left 64M Job Candidate’s Data Vulnerable
What happened: McDonald’s job application chatbot (called Olivia) was found to have a major security vulnerability that left personal details (like names, emails, phone numbers, resumes, and chat messages) from people who applied for jobs and impacted 90%+ of McDonald’s franchises. Perhaps the worst part? The backend of the Olivia system was protected by an incredibly weak password: just “123456”.
Why it matters: If you’ve ever applied for a job through McDonald’s chatbot or a similar tool, it’s a reminder that even major brands can make basic security mistakes…and your personal info may not always be as protected as you'd expect.
Read more here.
60-Second Protection Fix
In light of the McDonald’s chatbot exposing personal info, treat this as a reminder to tighten up your password habits…whether you were directly affected (again, unlikely) or not.
Use a password manager:
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Generate strong, unique passwords for every site
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Store them securely (no more sticky notes)
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Autofill logins across devices with ease
We love 1Password.
Cyber Career Spotlight
Exploring a New Career? Check Out Application Security (aka “The Code Guardians”)
Application Security teams are responsible for building and securing the software people use every day, like websites, mobile apps, and chatbots. They ensure that sensitive data (like names, emails, and resumes) is handled safely and doesn’t leak. If you’ve ever thought, “How do we stop breaches at the source?”, this could be your path.
Learn more about Application Security in my Cyber Paths 101
Cyber Paths 101 walks you through all 14 cybersecurity domains (including Application Security) so you can explore each role and see which one fits you best.
Ready to go deeper? Join our Cyber Career Club to grow your skills, find your footing, and build with a community that’s rooting for you every step of the way.
Click here to take the free Cybersecurity Intro course.
Must-Have Tool
Incogni – McDonald’s breach is a reminder that our names, emails, phone numbers, resumes, and chat logs may already be in circulation.
Incogni deletes your data from creepy people-search sites and data brokers automatically. Then it keeps scanning and sending deletion requests every two months, so your info stays off the market.
Check it out here and take your privacy back.
What You Missed This Week
This was my most popular video this past week: Think your personal voicemail is safe? Think again. Scammers are now using AI to replicate voices, including yours.
Click on this video to understand how scammers are finding ways to replicate your voice and how it could put your identity at risk.
What We're Hearing From You!
Go, girl! I’m also a female in cybersecurity and love to see the representation!! @_sil_ladysi_
"@sil_ladysi Love seeing you here. Every voice like yours makes cyber more inclusive and our community stronger. Let’s keep lifting each other up #WomenInCyber #InclusiveCyber
Let’s keep building together!
Stay protected,
Cybersecurity Girl
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