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Editor’s Note: Thanks to technology, threats to our financial security and personal privacy have never been greater. If you hold any of your wealth in electronic form, you’re at risk. Tom first wrote about the importance of protecting your online wealth back in May 2010. This valuable wealth-protection step is just as crucial today.
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From Tom Dyson, publisher, Palm Beach Research Group: They’re calling it the “Flash Crash”…
With a market cap of $25 billion, Accenture is one of the largest technology, consulting, and outsourcing companies in the world. For a few minutes last Thursday, Accenture’s stock price fell to zero.
Its stock market value literally vanished.
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Something similar happened to a dozen other companies and funds. Even Procter & Gamble, one of the largest and most stable companies in the world, dropped 37%. CNBC observed it was a loss of $35 billion in market cap.
A few moments later, everything returned to normal…
Some are blaming an electronic trading glitch. Others say high-speed trading programs caused it.
Some are even saying an individual trader caused the crash by entering a position incorrectly into the system.
But my first thought was the Daemon…
The Daemon (pronounced “demon”) is the fictional creation of author Daniel Suarez, in his novel titled Daemon.
The novel is centered on Matthew Sobol, a genius game designer from California. He creates a program, the Daemon, to hack global computer networks and wreak havoc.
Infiltrating the computer systems of major corporations is one tactic the Daemon uses.
Once embedded in a corporate data system, the program contacts management and threatens to destroy the company’s databases.
The Daemon will allow the databases to function—and the business to operate—in return for billions of dollars in ransom.
Some companies refuse. The Daemon destroys their financial records, and their stock market values vaporize—just like what happened to Accenture last Thursday.
I’m not saying this was a cyberattack on the stock exchange.
Truth is, I have no idea what caused this “flash crash,” nor does anyone else, it seems. Even The Wall Street Journal refrained from speculating in Friday morning’s edition.
But a dozen stocks saw their values turn to zero, and the stock market lost 10% of its value in seconds.
Now… think about how much of your business depends on the smooth functioning of computers, databases, and the Internet. Think about how much of your life is now online and vulnerable to genius computer criminals.
If you’re like most people, you don’t know much about how it all works. You just go along with everyone else and trust the system.
As yesterday’s stock market glitch and our series on personal Internet security have shown, trusting 100% of your life and money to technology is risky.
Or, as one of the characters in Daemon notes, “Apparently, people thought nothing of hanging their personal fortunes on technology they didn’t understand.”
Daemon is a brilliant book. I read it cover to cover without stopping. It discusses all kinds of technology I didn’t know about… and does it in an entertaining way. Best of all, all the technology featured in the book exists today.
In other words, the book’s premise is absolutely plausible.
The point Thursday’s market action reinforces is this: If you hold your wealth in electronic form, you’re taking a risk. That risk is technological failure.
It may be a tiny risk… or it may not be so tiny. You can’t know. But are you willing to risk so much on something you don’t understand?
Fortunately, it’s an easy risk to insure against.
You simply have to keep a small percentage of your wealth in physical gold, silver, and cash. And don’t trust anyone else to store it. Keep it yourself, secure it, and don’t tell anyone about it.
And consider taking some of the online security steps I’ve discussed here before.
We’ve all come to rely and depend upon technology we don’t understand to store our wealth. We’re taking a small but potentially catastrophic risk.
By keeping a stash of physical wealth, you’re taking the first step in mitigating this risk.
Reeves’ Note: With today’s technology, it’s not just your portfolio at risk. Prying eyes can track your every move online and in the real world. Financial transactions, travel, personal correspondence… it’s all up for grabs.
Tom’s investigative team conducted extensive research into how to protect your personal data from hackers, corporations, and the government. It’s easier than you think. They compiled this information in an eye-opening special report, entitled, “How to Protect Yourself From America’s New ‘Secret Police.’” It’s just one of the 37 reports in The Palm Beach Letter’s extensive (and growing) special reports archive.