LONDON, Aug. 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Marking International VPN Day today (August 19th), new NordVPN research shows just how exposed Americans are online. More than a quarter (27%) say they can’t imagine going a day without being online, and 30% worry their personal data is already circulating without their knowledge. A parallel dark web study reveals a mismatch. The data Americans fear losing most is not what criminals trade most. It’s what they trade cheapest.

Personal information is already out in the open

Many Americans have shared more online than they realize. Seven in ten (70%) have shared their full name, 66% their date of birth, and 56% their full address. Nearly one in five (19%) have shared bank details, and 15% their Social Security number. For some, regret has set in: 13% say they have shared personal information they later wished they hadn’t.

The dark web price list

The research shows what an American digital identity is worth in practice:

Stolen payment cards go for around $10, less than a fast-food lunch.A digital passport sells for $35, an ID or driving licence for $50, and a “fullz,” a complete personal identity data set, for $35. Real physical passports fetch up to $1,500.An email account sells for around $27, giving criminals the keys to password resets for every other service.Streaming logins like Netflix sell for under $5, while social media accounts range from $12 (Telegram) to $60 (TikTok).Finance is where the real money is, with Chase accounts selling at $288 and Cash App accounts at $555.

What Americans would sacrifice for a clean slate

Asked what they would sacrifice to have their online presence erased, 33% would quit drinking alcohol, 26% would give up video games, and 19% would stop eating sweets and desserts.

“People worry most about big data like bank details and ID numbers, but criminals often target everyday accounts. A single hacked email account, sold for the price of a couple of coffees, can lead to full identity theft,” Briedis explains. “Cybersecurity is about habits. Strong unique passwords, multi-factor authentication, a VPN on public networks, and limiting what you share put you ahead of most targets, because criminals always go for the easiest catch first.”

For more information on the international VPN day, please visit: 
https://nordvpn.com/international-vpn-day/

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SOURCE NordVPN

New Luma-powered features will help staff and parents connect about children’s care

BURLINGTON, Vt. and SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Physician’s Computer Company (PCC), the eight-time Best in KLAS pediatric electronic health record, and Luma Health, the Operational AI platform for healthcare, announced their partnership to bring Luma’s communications to 300+ independent pediatric practices and 1,400+ pediatricians across the United States.

Luma is now natively integrated into PCC. Parents and caregivers will receive two-way communication about their children’s care, available in 30+ languages. Communication is automated based on upcoming visits, or sent ad hoc such as during clinic closures. Staff manage all communication from one place, with visibility into patient, parent, and caregiver information.

“For 40 years, our mission has been to remove the obstacles that keep pediatricians from taking care of children,” said Chip Hart, PCC’s CEO. “Luma stood out as a truly patient-focused technology partner, from the way they do business to the way their technology is built. Our teams are already working together on ways to improve the patient experience for the practices we serve.”

At PCC’s annual Users’ Conference, the PCC and Luma teams showed the new features and talked with providers about the unique needs of pediatric clinics.

“We are so excited about PCC’s partnership with Luma and the opportunity to take our communication with patients and families to the next level,” said Brenna Zimmerman, practice manager at Topeka Pediatrics. “We’re looking forward to spending less time on manual communication and more time focusing on what matters most – caring for our patients.”

“My daughter’s pediatrician is a PCC customer, so I see how much they care,” said Aditya Bansod, Luma’s co-founder and president. “Amidst all the noise in healthcare, PCC stays focused on independent pediatricians. They’re warm, they solve problems in creative ways, and they say what they mean, and mean what they say. That’s the kind of partner we want to build with.”

PCC customers will learn more about implementing the new features this fall. For more detail about the partnership, read the blog.

About Luma Health
Luma Health’s operational AI platform eliminates bottlenecks to make health systems more efficient—from the patient journey to the back office. Headquartered in San Francisco, Luma has R&D centers in the US, Brazil, and Europe. We serve more than 1,000 healthcare organizations with 100+ million patients across the US, UK, and the Caribbean.

Media Contact: lumahealth@nextpr.com

About Physician’s Computer Company
PCC (Physician’s Computer Company) is a privately held software solutions firm with over 40 years of industry experience working exclusively to meet the needs of independent pediatricians. As a Benefit Corporation, our culture centers around doing what’s right for our clients, prioritizing humanity over profit, and valuing independence and self-determination. Since 1983, we have built tools, provided consulting, and offered support to pediatric practices that seek to improve the health of their patients and improve their bottom lines. Our commitment to helping pediatricians stay independent is the driving force behind everything we do.

Media Contact:
Erin Auer
pccmarketing@pcc.com
802-846-8177
www.pcc.com

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SOURCE Luma Health

CHICAGO, Aug. 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Smokeball, the industry-leading AI legal practice management software, today unveiled a new global brand built around a simple mission: Powering People-Law. Smokeball created the term People-Law to put a name to the deeply human work lawyers do every day.

The company’s new global brand places people at the center of the story and reflects the legal work that holds communities together, and that Smokeball exists to power. It’s the families navigating change, the first-time home buyers, the small business owners, and the individuals seeking justice.  

“We want our brand to reflect the incredible community we serve. As we’ve grown into a global business, we realized our brand had not kept up with value we provide” said Hunter Steele, Co-founder and CEO of Smokeball. ” Powering People-Law is a clearer expression of the purpose that has guided the company from the start. This isn’t a reinvention of Smokeball, it’s who we’ve always been. Law has always been, and will always be, a people business. Our role is to power the lawyers behind that work, giving them more time to focus on the people who need them most.” 

While Smokeball’s look has changed, its mission, software and commitment to clients remain the same. 

The refreshed identity brings the idea of people-law to life through every element of the brand, including a flag-inspired logo representing advocacy and equal access to justice, authentic photography featuring real clients, team members and community members, and a warmer visual system designed to feel distinctly human. Together, the changes reflect the lawyers Smokeball serves and the communities they support every day. 

The new brand will roll out across Smokeball’s products, website and customer experience from today. 

For more information, visit https://bit.ly/3S4Llrx.  

For media inquiries or to schedule executive interviews: Nina Walker, nina.mendiola@smokeball.com  

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About Smokeball 

Smokeball is Powering People-Law. Operating globally from our headquarters in Sydney, with offices in Chicago and London, Smokeball is the leader in legal AI and practice management software, serving more than 7,000 law firms and 34,000 users worldwide. 

Our technology, such as Archie, our AI matter assistant and our library of 20,000+ automated legal forms that help you cut legal drafting time by up to 87%—is built around you. By automating time tracking, document creation, billing, case management and other administrative work, our platform gives legal professionals more time and headspace to focus on what matters most: their clients and communities. 

Founded in 2012 by legal technology experts Hunter Steele, Jane Oxley and Bart Vadala, Smokeball is the industry standard in People-Law. 

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/smokeball-introduces-people-law-with-new-global-brand-refresh-302854647.html

SOURCE Smokeball, Inc.