Showing posts with label cyber security. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cyber security. Show all posts

Monday, March 23, 2015

Doubleheader Videos: Int'l Cyber Crime and BlackHat & DEFCON

Cyber crime is a serious problem for society as we immerse ourselves further and further into an Internet-based world. Today's a doubleheader day as we provide you with two informative, interesting videos on cyber crime.

Those who have been victimized know all too well the pain and suffering associated with the actions of criminals that work hard to take what is not theirs. No longer is the word "hacker" synonymous with young children looking for a new challenge, but rather grownup adults who seek to steal as much money as possible, or to steal critical data in order to blackmail or gain some political or business advantage.

This reminds me of a situation I encountered many years ago where my grandson received a $1,200 check in the mail for two small mobile speakers he had advertised on Craigslist for $100. The letter, neatly typed out on a blank piece of paper, instructed him to cash the check, take an extra $100 and to wire them the balance of the cash. What these kinds of scammers are looking for are greedy fools willing to do this no matter if it's right or not. In a word, people who ask no questions but are quite willing to participate in a crime they don't know anything about.

I told him not to send the speakers, but rather to give me the check, which I took to the local FBI office. I met with one of the agents who told me to keep the check, to report it to the IC3 (Internet Crime Complaint Center) and they would take care of it. He confided that this portion of the agency was very busy and he doubted anything would come out of the complaint as it's happening all the time and there is so much of it that the FBI probably wouldn't follow through. He was correct as far as I can tell because I was never contacted and never asked for the check.

One thing is for sure, I did not allow my grandson to cash it.

Here we are, almost 15 years later, and the fish that the FBI has to fry is even more shocking.

In 2013, the IC3 received 262,813 consumer complaints with an adjusted dollar loss of $781,841,611, which is a 48.8 percent increase in reported losses since 2012 ($581,441,110). The IC3 continues its efforts to inform the general public about online scams by publishing public service announcements and providing tips for Internet consumers. (click here)

Today, @ESC_LLC presents two informative cyber security videos, the one on International hacking and a discussion regarding those who are in the fight and what made them decide to enter the cyber security industry.

Here they are.

If you or the company or organization you work for have been victimized through an Internet scam or hacking situation, you can report it to the FBI's IC3 group. To do that, Click Here.

ESC would like to hear from you. If you have a question about cyber crime or if you would like to comment, please feel free to comment directly to this blog post using the comment window below, or use our quick response form top right. You also can use our Contact Us pages.

Allan B. Colombo
ESC Director of Social Media and Web Assets
Senior Design Specialist with TpromoCom of Columbus, Ohio.

Copyright©2015
TpromoCom

Thursday, March 19, 2015

Monday: Doubleheader Videos on Cyber Crime

This next Monday ESC will release two informative videos on cyber crime. The first outlines the nature of cyber crime activities occurring, especially between nations, and how that effects us. The second discusses careers in cyber security as experts tell how they entered the fight. This is a great video for those contemplating a career fighting cyber crime. Be there!

As mentioned numerous times, Electronic Systems Consultants LLC is dedicated to your security and that includes the security of your data. We assist many commercial and government institutions in the fight against crime, which includes computer security. The two videos we present Monday will provide helpful insights into cyber security and the men and women who are on the front lines of data protection.

To watch this video, click here.

John Larkin

Copyright©2015
TpromoCom

Monday, March 2, 2015

How to Remain Secure in a Cyber World

With news of cyber crime reverberating throughout society, it goes without saying that it's important to protect yourself and your department, agency, or company by taking precautions against hackers. Probably the most important take-away from all this negative news is this: it's getting worse, not better!

Here at Electronic Systems Consultants LLC (@ESC_LLC), we are always aware of the potential for hacking, and so we have taken precautions to protect our data, which includes your records. We believe so wholeheartedly in cyber security that we include it in our social media outreach almost each and every day of the week.

As I said a little bit ago, the thing about all this that alarms me the most is the fact that the number of data breaches is increasing despite all the attention data security is getting in the news as of late. Here's a good example of that:

Fines Remain Rare Even As Health Data Breaches Multiply

In a string of meetings and press releases, the federal government's health watchdogs have delivered a stern message: They are cracking down on insurers, hospitals and doctors offices that don't adequately protect the security and privacy of medical records.

But as breaches of patient records proliferate — just this month, insurer Anthem revealed a hack that exposed information for nearly 80 million people — federal overseers have seldom penalized the health care organizations responsible for safeguarding this data, a ProPublica review shows. click here

As part of our effort to keep you informed on issues pertaining to cyber crime and security, @ESC_LLC has routinely featured informative videos on how to protect yourself and your agency/department/company from cyber attack. This includes Big Data, which promises to be one of the most significant security threats in recent times.

One way to begin the process of data protection is to never use an administrator account in your computer while surfing the Internet. Instead, create a simple user account and use it. The significance of this is that if someone does manage to hack your machine, they won't be in a position to do irreparable damage because they will not have administrator rights.

The following video provides additional tips and ideas on how to protect yourself while on the Internet. Please take a few minutes to watch and listen as the presenter offers some very good ideas on ways to protect your data. I'll finish up with a comment or two afterward.

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If you should have any questions, or if you happen to have a favorite video or article to share with us and our readers, please send it along to me via our contact form.

John Larkin, Senior Partner

Copyright©2015