Protection For Everyone

While no system is completely safe from cyber threats, there are numerous things users can do to make their computers and their data safer from attacks. Most times the weakest part of the security chain is us users because we don't want to think about it and don't take the steps to secure ourselves.

A few steps can help protect your computer

First you better have some type of antivirus! And no you don't have to empty your wallet to get it, some free options are available and anything is really better than nothing. The protection that is best is up to everyone to decide. AVG is one of a few that provide free basic protection. It will at least protect your computer some. Picking the right protection is up to the individual, just have something!

Next you have that antivirus protecting you.....well not if it is out of date. Keep on top of those updates. Make sure your computer checks for updates often. If you don't want it updating by itself, fine but have it check and notify you. All those programs that you haven't updated provide holes for security breaches.

All those passwords named after you pets or children are easy for hackers to figure out. Use short phrases that mean something to you, mix in upper and lower case, and mix in numbers. Use different passwords and change them often. Also keeping your passwords written down isn't recommended but if you must keep them locked up somewhere so not just anybody can stumble upon them. We all hear this time and time again but it is important to use smart passwords.

Another thing that many people hear but never listen to is making backups.Computers die and have issues and the data on your computer isn't always recoverable. So please back your important things up, it saves you from regretting it later.

How much do you know about cyber security?

Be careful what you connect to. If it sounds to good to be true, it probably is. Make sure your home WiFi is secure and when going out make sure your computer does not automatically connect to a network that it sees.

Ever left yourself logged into Facebook and come back to a few status changes? Well while you were gone someone could've easily installed a virus to keylog your computer and see everything that you type, passwords and all. Don't just log of sites but also lock your computer if you are going away from it, even if it is just for a minute because one minute is enough for someone to seriously damage your computer.

Be aware of common scams and keep up on what is happening. Staying informed can sometimes be the best defense. The best defense is to be aware of what the trends are and to stay on top of updates. We all surf the Internet anyways, won't hurt to look up some stuff to help keep your browsing safe as well.

Protecting From A Big Cyber Attack

After outlining some of the threats individuals, companies, and even the United States faces from cyber threats, many want to know how we can protect ourselves. U.S. Cyber Command is in charge of keeping the United States information networks safe. While they should keep the infrastructure safe, companies need to take other measures to protect themselves.

For the security of the Untied States and other countries, many try to pass laws so that the government has more control over cyber space. These proposed laws bring up the question about how much power and control governments should have so most do not make it far. The main thing individuals can do is to make their opinions known about what the government is doing to keep us secure.

So while politicians argue about what we should do here is what companies should do to protect themselves now.The Federal Communications Commission recommends these steps for companies to be safer in cyber space.

   1.  Train EmployeesEach company should have basic security policies set up.  Employees should be educated on such practices. Some that should be included are appropriate Internet use guideline, penalties for violating rules, how to keep costumer information safe, and what to do if the information seems compromised.

   2. Protect From Attacks
Have the latest security software, web browsers and updates. Having one thing out of date can let a virus in so keep update as soon as available. Have protection run regular scans to pick up infections.

   3. Firewall Security
Make sure the operating system's firewall is enabled. The firewall will help keep outsiders from accessing data on the private network. If employees are going to work from home, make sure they have a firewall up as well.

   4. Mobile Device Plans
With the rise of smartphones in companies, they create risks for employers as well. Employees that use their smartphones for work or have company phones need to have them password protected and encrypt their data. There also need to be procedures in place for lost or stolen equipment.

   5.Backups
It seems like everyone gets told to have backups but few listen. So backup data on all computers, a good practice is having is set daily at the end of the work day. Backup weekly at the least and either store backups offsite or in the cloud.

   6. Control Access
Prevent others from accessing company computers as easily with password protected accounts for employees. Laptops are an easy target so have them set to lock when the lid is closed. Only give admin rights to trusted IT and key people to limit what can be downloaded. Only give people access to the data they need, don't give them all in one if they don't need it to do their job.

   7. Secure that Wi-Fi
Make sure your Wi-Fi is secure, encrypted and hidden. Many forget to do this after setting up the network so then any criminal can see your network. Password protect your router and have it set so that it does not broadcast the network name.

   8. Passwords
Make employees change their passwords every so often. Check with your vendors as well to see what they do to secure your accounts so that your information doesn't get leaked through them.

By following these tips, businesses can better protect themselves from cyber threats. Many of these can also be applied to individuals as well. Next time we will go over some tips that individuals should follow to keep themselves safe from the rising cyber threats. 

Cyber Threats to Individuals

Almost every household in the United States has at least one computer in it. These computers while great, link us to cyber threats. The end of 2011 brought these predictions to cyber threats for 2012.

First with the rising use of cell phones and apps, the attacks on those devices rise as well. The risks for these devices include access to information like physical location and contact lists. Apps can also download malware and keyloggers or programs can eavesdrop on phone calls and text messages. Users who use their phone for banking and enter personal information are more at risk.

Many cell phones now face cyber threats such as viruses

Cyber criminals were also predicted to take advantage of popular searchers. Popular keywords or sights become targets for cyber infections. Criminals target upcoming big events; one that was predicted to be targeted was the election. The threat comes from the malware people attach to these popular searches and sites. 

Faking things was also part of the 2012 hack predictions. From faking registry cleanups, to fake speed improvements and fake back-up software, these hackers fake just about anything to get into your computer. These fake products are predicted to continue in the future as long as they are able to fool people.

With the rise of cyber risks some wonder if anything is safe

Hack predictions also were high for spear phishing, which is basically using deceptive communication to get access to confidential data. Using fake emails, texts, or other forms of communication the hackers try to get access to your data. These hackers are out for financial gain, or some sort of secret information. These tactics are predicted to continue throughout 2013.

Georgia Tech and Websense also have some predictions on what threats we will face in 2013. The prediction for mobile attacks continues as smartphones become more popular. While only a few phones now show signs of infection, the popularity and data in a smartphones are bound to tempt hackers to try to get into more phones.

The basic trend is that hackers work to get around the protection that people do have. The threat landscape evolves to keep up with protection evolution. The predictions for 2013 mainly involve evolutions of the risks that we face today.

As technology changes, threats change to march. Now the problem becomes how do we protect ourselves from such changing threats, next time  some solutions and people can better protect themselves.

Cyber Threats to the US and Companies

As Technology becomes more prevalent in our everyday lives, hackers get more for their time. These hackers don't just have their sights set on individuals though; they see companies and even countries and targets. Could a few good hackers be a huge threat to the United States and even huge companies?

Riptech Inc, an internet security firm in VA, verified threat 128,678 cyber-attacks on just 300 of the companies it severs in the last six months of 2001. Google was even thinking about pulling out of China because of a targeted attack on the corporate infrastructure. These attacks are don't even scratch the surface of wide spread attacks.

Here are some scary numbers from The Bureau of Justice in 2005 of 7,818 businesses: 

• 67% detected a minimum of one cyber-crime
• 11% detected cyber theft
• Most did not report the attacks to law enforcement
• 68% victims of cyber theft lost $10,000 or more 

But 2005 the report didn't mention e-commerce, in 2001 fraud losses on e-commerce exceeded $700 million. With the Internet getting used more and more the statistics are no doubt on the rise.

More than 91% of corporations and U.S. government agencies that responded to an annual FBI survey reported computer-security breaches in 2001. Sixty-four percent of these agencies and companies admitted to having financial losses from those attacks. 

From these numbers, it is easy to tell the number of cyber threats is high but it does not get much better. As the government and companies are using more technology, as we examined in the last post, the number of cyber-attacks increases. The fact that some of this technology is so dangerous doesn't help either. Hackers in 2002 were also able to hack into 92 federal computer networks, including those used by the military.

Here is a scary thought, the predator drones (remotely controlled aircraft that are used for surveillance and missile attacks) feed was intercepted by insurgents in Iraq and most likely tipped them off to when and where attacks were going to take place. Worse yet the software used cost the insurgents a whole 26 dollars. 

Many things are easy to hack with the way the world is connected, even the military

If the military being hacked isn't bad enough, the nation's infrastructure is at risk too. If hackers managed to get access to the system that controls the infrastructure, they could manipulate gas lines, the power grid, the floodgates of dams, and more. With that kind of power, a group or even one person could seriously mess up countries since many countries have an infrastructure similar to the United States.

The infrastructure that we rely so much on is largely based on the Internet, which makes it highly vulnerable to attack. The good news in that in 2009 the government showed serious interest in bolstering cyber-security efforts.  This included Obama announcing that he planned to create a cyber-security office in the White House to protect the networks. No plans have been fully implemented yet though.

Another problem in fixing the security issue is how much say the government should have. Utilities and financial institutions are private sectors but create an insecurity to us all. The question of how much power the government should have comes up, making resolutions very controversial and tough to pass.

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The scary part about many of these cyber-crimes is that many of us never hear about them. That's because companies and the government would rather suffer losses than to admit it's insecurities in its systems. They also would hate to lose public confidence.

Information from here, here, and here.

Evolution of Computer Threats

With the rise of computers came the rise of threats to computers. From computer viruses people create for amusement to people to stealing personal information to make money. The rise of computer treats gained speed when personal computers gained popularity. More computers mean more profit or enjoyment for your work.


The term most used to describe the people behind the threats to our computers are called "hackers" but the term didn't receive a bad rep until the eighties. Before hacks were shortcuts to improve computer performance. The term gained disdain when people began using computers and the internet for their own gains.  

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1978 is where the first breed of hackers really appear. While they weren't hacking computers, the hackers were still disrupting a service. Teenage boys of the time found fun in misdirecting and disconnecting telephone calls. But this isn't the type of hackers that we have come to fear these days.

In 1983 hacking gained popularity and glamor from the media. There was a number of popular books and films at the time, including the 1983 movie, War Games. The central characters in movies like War Games would be glamorized hackers. The characters would be shown achieving things through hacking or making it seem easy and profitable. After the media glamorized hacking, there was a rise in threats to computers. 

Hackers of the early 80s weren't the hackers that we know today though. These hackers mainly explored systems to see how they work. This exploration, while unsettling, didn't particularly pose a threat to users.

A new breed of hackers aimed toward criminal pursuits. These new pursuits included pirating software, games, and creating viruses and worms that could basically shut down systems. As these hackers changed their game, Congress passes the first hacking-related legislation. The Federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act in 1986, this act made computer tampering a felony. This was punishable by jail time and monetary fines.

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The first person convicted under this new act was Robert T. Morris Jr. In 1986 he was convicted from his self-replicating worm. The first juvenile, Herbert Zinn wasn't convicted under the act until 1989.

Newer forms of hacking came with the rise of the internet. Hacking unsecured wireless access points has grown with the increased use of wireless networks. Most owners do not take the time to secure their access points, making them a quick and easy target for hackers.

With the rise of threats to computers comes the rise of computer protection. Many companies even employ hackers to test their system to see how secure it is. The rise of the internet has also made it possible to hack from essentially anywhere in the world. Computers connect us and in doing so connect the feed for threats.


Information sourced from here and here.

Rise of Computers

Technology is almost impossible to avoid in our everyday lives anymore. Everyone pretty much has a computer. While computers didn't appear overnight, their growth and development has been fast paced over the years. These days, having a computer that is older than a year is considered outdated.

Charles Babbage designed the first computers in the mid-1800s and while these designs were not created in Babbage's lifetime, the designs were persevered. These early computers bear little resemble to the computers that we know but they paved the way for some concepts that are used today. These concepts include separating storage from processing and the logical structures of computers.

These computers were followed by the first electronic computers of the late 1930s. These computers used vacuum tubes. The first general purpose programmable electronic computer was the ENIAC or Electronic Numerical Integrator and computer. This computer, built by J Presper Eckert and John Mauchly was for calculations during the hydrogen bomb designing.

 ENIAC

In the 1950s high level programming languages were introduced, including FORTRAN, ALGOL, and COBOL. These higher level computers led to the first two supercomputers were designed for numeric processing in scientific applications. The first commercial available computers were also introduced in the fifties.

In the sixties, one of the most important advances for modern day computers, the microchip and microprocessor were introduced. By the seventies 16 bit models of computers were available. The seventies also brought  the first personal computers thanks to the microchip. These allowed computers to be smaller and not take up a whole room like some of their ancestors.

 Sixties Computers

The first laptop was advertised in the eighties and as computers became smaller and lighter became more popular. By the 2000s most households had at least one computer. The rise of mobile computing pushed the popularity of computers even farther. Now most computer functions are available in the palm of the hand by smartphones. 

Now in the tablet computer is picking up steam. The trend of faster and smaller computers is still going strong. In one hundred years computing has made big progress. From taking up whole rooms to fitting in the palm of the hand. From doing basic math, to internet, email and more.

Evolution of computers

The possibilities of computers of the future are unpredictable. While the processing power and size are bound to follow the same pattern, what new features computers may gain are up in the air. Maybe in the next one hundred years we will see computers like the ones we see in sci-phi movies. With the rise of computers comes the rise of crime as well. Next time we will look at the rise of computer crimes.

The information for this post came from here and here.