More Cybercrime Serves as Warning to Take Defensive Precautions

 

Updated Sept. 20, 2012

Cybercrime is only getting worse.

From both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, here are two examples:

In New York, six Estonians and one Russian were charged by authorities with cybercrimes on a massive scale. Victims include the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, other government agencies, businesses and 500,000 people. 

In the U.K., 13 people were sentenced to jail terms over their use of malware in banking fraud totaling 2.9 million British pounds, or $4.6 million. Hundreds of people were victimized. 

These stories are another lesson to take cybercrime seriously.

For best practices in thwarting cybercriminals, I always turn to nationally recognized security expert, Dr. Stan Stahl, of Citadel Information Group in Los Angeles.

His tips:

1. Keep systems patched with the latest updates. (His security blog, Weekend Vulnerability and Patch Report, lists major updates for software typically found in small offices and home computers.)
2. Run up-to-date anti-virus anti-malware software – or what is even better, a strong intrusion detection and prevention solution.
3. Use strong passwords for access to sites with sensitive information. Password length is more important than randomness; size matters. ‘2HelloPepper#’ is a much stronger password than “Ab$%16vF” plus it’s a lot easier to remember.

“Be extremely sensitive to social engineering attacks,” Dr. Stahl adds. “Don’t open email attachments or click on links in emails unless the email is from someone you know and is expected.”

For more of Dr. Stahl’s insights, visit his Web site.

(Note: Dr. Stahl is a fellow member of Consultants West, www.consultantswest.com, a roundtable of veteran consultants in the Los Angeles area.)

From the Coach’s Corner, here are more security strategies:

• Security Precautions to Take Following Citibank’s Second Reported Online Breach
• Why Many Healthcare Workers Are Responsible for Alarming Trend: Medical ID Theft
• Lesson about Passwords after Theft of 16,000+ UCLA Patient Records
• Most Small Businesses Make You Vulnerable to Credit Card Fraud, ID Theft – Study
• Cyber Security: Is Your Business Prepared with Precautions and Response Philosophy?

“Passwords are like underwear: you don’t let people see it, you should change it very often, and you shouldn’t share it with strangers.”

-Chris Pirillo

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Author Terry Corbell has written innumerable online business-enhancement articles, and is a business-performance consultant and profit professional. Click here to see his management services. For a complimentary chat about your business situation or to schedule him as a speaker, consultant or author, please contact Terry.