The Psychology Behind Social Engineering – and How to Resist It

With the rapid development of artificial intelligence technologies, social engineering is more dangerous than ever. As CNN reports, in 2024, a multinational design and engineering company called Arup lost $25 million due to its employees falling for a deepfake impersonation scam.... Read More

The Ultimate Guide to Deleting Yourself From the Internet (And Reclaiming Your Privacy)

As we spend more and more time on the internet, we easily lose control of our digital identity, which is not just inconvenient but actually dangerous. With every online form you fill out, social media post you share, or website... Read More

What Is a Digital Footprint? How to Check, Track, and Clean Yours

A digital footprint is a unique trail of data tracing everything you do online, including posting on social media, shopping on e-commerce sites, or simply browsing the web. Importantly, it can shape how others perceive you, influence job opportunities, and... Read More

How to Protect and Reduce Your Digital Footprint: Practical Safety Tips

Every click, search, and scroll you make online contributes to your digital footprint, which is a trail of data that reveals who you are, what you do, and where you’ve been on the internet. There are two types: active digital... Read More

How to Prevent Social Engineering and Phishing Attacks: Essential Strategies to Stay Safe Online

Social engineering is the art of manipulating people into giving up confidential information, often by posing as a trusted source. Phishing is a common form of social engineering that involves deceptive emails, messages, or websites designed to trick you into... Read More

How to Delete Your Digital Footprint: 7 Powerful Ways to Remove Personal Data Online

Your digital footprint is the trail of data you leave behind (digital exhaust) every time you browse, shop, post, or sign up online. As we spend a lot of time on the internet, our digital footprint is bigger and more... Read More

Report: Leadership at Risk in a Data Exposed World

A 2025 snapshot of the exposure of more than 10,000 C-suite executives in the USA across different sectors and roles, and how compromised privacy impacts cyber and physical security. The numbers tell a troubling story: 93% of C-suite executives have... Read More

VanishID Joins Mastercard’s award-winning Start Path program focused on Security Solutions

Enterprise digital executive protection leader is one of five global innovators selected to participate in a program geared towards accelerating cybersecurity solutions We’re thrilled to announce that VanishID has been selected to participate in Mastercard’s new Start Path Security Solutions program,... Read More

VanishID Selected for Mastercard’s Award-Winning Start Path Program

Enterprise digital executive protection pioneer among five innovative startups chosen as part of a new Security Solutions-focused program to support accelerated cybersecurity and fraud prevention innovation Bethesda, MD- July 1st, 2025 – VanishID, the first agentic AI-powered digital executive protection service... Read More

Raise the Bar as Attackers Lower the Barrier to Entry

By Frank Duff, Tidal Cyber and Matt Polak, Vanish ID Last year we started writing about how threat actors are using AI to lower the barriers to entry. Since then, we’ve seen an uptick in this trend, especially when it comes to writing much more... Read More

SecurityWeek: Picnic Corporation Rebrands to VanishID, Raises $10 Million

Written by Eduard Kovacs, managing editor at SecurityWeek. Picnic Corporation announced on Tuesday that it has rebranded to VanishID and it has raised $10 million in funding. VanishID has developed a solution designed to provide online protection to executives and employees. Similar... Read More

CEO Protection: Securing the Most Targeted People in Your Organization

Let’s talk about a reality that keeps security teams up at night: your CEO is likely the most exposed person in your organization. The Visibility Paradox Today’s business leaders face what we call the “visibility paradox” – they need to... Read More

DTC’s VanishID Investment: Personal Exposure is Corporate Risk

Written by Raman Khanna, Managing Director, Dell Technologies Capital Imagine this: A trusted finance exec at a mid-size public company receives a seemingly normal email from their CEO. It’s referencing a real offsite from last week and includes a PDF attachment with... Read More

CyberBytes Podcast with Matt Polak

In this episode of CyberBytes: The Podcast, Joseph Cooper was joined by Matt Polak, Founder and CEO of VanishID. VanishID is revolutionizing how organizations defend against social engineering by proactively identifying and removing the publicly available personal information that threat... Read More

VanishID Secures $10M in Funding as it Launches Digital CEO Protection Offering

Armed with investment from Dell Technologies Capital, agentic AI-powered digital executive protection leader prepares for its next stage of growth Washington, DC – April 22, 2025 – VanishID, the leader in agentic AI-powered digital executive protection for enterprises, today announced its rebrand... Read More

Picnic is now VanishID

We are thrilled to announce that Picnic Corporation is now doing business as VanishID. Why the Change? As our company has evolved, our work increasingly involves non-security employees and executives who may not be familiar with the history behind the Picnic... Read More

Guide for Choosing the Right PII Removal Service for Your Business

This guide will help you: Frame the problem for your stakeholders Understand the different solutions available to your organization Avoid common pitfalls when choosing a PII removal service Understand the long-term considerations of your selection Understand when VanishID is the... Read More

Live Hacking Demo: Rachel Tobac Targets Rob Lee

Robert M. Lee, a recognized cybersecurity authority and CEO of Dragos, volunteered for a live hacking demonstration sponsored by VanishID (formerly Picnic). Despite his expertise (he was named Security Executive of the Year for 2022 by SC Media), ethical hacker... Read More

VanishID Executive Digital Privacy Snapshot: Leadership at Risk

Introduction The overwhelming prevalence of data breaches, exposed credentials, and the visibility of personal information underscores an urgent need for enhanced digital security measures tailored for executive protection.  The security of executive leadership has become a paramount concern for organizations... Read More

VanishID’s Executive Digital Privacy Snapshot Reveals Alarming Risks for C-Suite Executives Across All Industries

Data brokers make more than 93% of U.S. Chief Executives’ home addresses visible Washington, DC – March 5, 2025 – Digital executive protection leader VanishID (formerly Picnic) today released a summary report, “Digital Privacy Snapshot: Leadership at Risk,” revealing that U.S. chief... Read More

Safe at Work, Safe at Home: The Case for Extending Digital Protection to Families

Scammers are getting smarter, and their tactics more sophisticated. They don’t just go after businesses or high-profile individuals anymore—they target everyday people, often during their most vulnerable moments. We recently witnessed a heartbreaking scam of the type that triggered Jason... Read More

AI scambaiters against scammers are a painkiller but are not the antidote

There is campaign that is catching a lot of eyeballs right now as a write this blog. It’s a neat use of technology and marketing masterstroke. If you missed it, “Daisy” is an AI-grandma scambaiter created by O2 (Telefónica UK) to fight... Read More

The first page of Google search results about you is a lot scarier than the dark web

The first page of Google search results about you is a lot scarier than the dark web. But news organizations and some security vendors love to scare people about the dark web, so I thought I’d offer some thoughts on that... Read More

Matt Polak Interview on Hackernoon

/ In the News / By VanishID In this short interview by NewsByte.Tech published on HackerNoon, Matt answers the following questions: What is your company in 2–5 words? Why is now the time for your company to exist? What do you love about... Read More

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