BEAT THE HACKERS AT THEIR OWN GAME

Global Knowledge is another company in the information technology field that assists large companies in turning knowledge into productivity. They have published an excellent reference guide, “Ten Ways Hackers Breach Security” that you can download in PDF format. Although designed for corporations, by reading only seven pages, you can get ahead of the bad guys and maybe prevent a personal ID theft incident. James Michael Steward of Global Knowledge gives three steps to reduce the threat of a breach. One, understand your vulnerabilities; two, analyze potential problems and determine what to do about them; three, do something to correct weaknesses. If you don’t, this is how the hackers could make life miserable. I have chosen those most applicable to an individual situation. Stealing your passwords. To avoid this, don’t use the same one in multiple accounts, don’t write them down, and change often. Trojan Horses. Delivered by an e-mail as an attachment, or in a Web site download, or placed on removable media, your best protection is reliable, anti-virus software, and always know what you are accessing. Phishing attacks. If you receive a look-alike business e-mail directing you to what is probably a rogue link, first check with the company by telephone before giving out personal information. Hackers do homework too. If they want to break into your system, they can find enough public data online to finish the job. Maintaining a good firewall is the best security for this. The crooks are patient. Keep your guard up at all times, just like you would if walking to your car in a dark and deserted parking lot. It’s the individual, stupid. If it’s your computer, only you can do something dumb that will compromise your security system. Don’t. Because Global Knowledge makes their living selling this kind of advice to big business, we would be advised to pay attention, even if we’ve heard it before.