Preparing for Digital Disaster

Cyber attacks. Concerned?  Perhaps you should be.  In recent months, several large organizations such as Lockheed Martin, L3, the Central Intelligence Agency, and ADP (Automatic Data Processing) have all experienced varying degrees and ferocity of cyber attacks.  In fact, just days ago the Malaysian government had 96 websites succumb to such an onslaught.

It is widely debated as to just how vulnerable the United States is to wide-scale, far-impacting cyber terrorism, but such attacks can easily be launched against you personally.  To what end?  Data theft is usually the motivation – with personal financial information the typical target.  However, many cyber attacks are aimed at simply causing destruction and mayhem.  The CIH (or Chernobyl virus) was specifically designed to destroy data and even leave computers stone-cold dead by overwriting the BIOS.  It caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damages and infected millions of computers.

The CIH virus is now considered a nominal threat because of its age – virus protection software has long been able to detect this nefarious bug.  However, there are thousands of new malware (stands for “malicious software” and is the collective term used to describe all cyber bugs – viruses, trojans, worms, spyware, rootkits, etc.) developed and distributed every month.  So, don’t forget to include your computer and valuable data in your own personal emergency preparedness plans.

The following is provided by the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team to help you secure your digital assets.

General information

Why is Cyber Security a Problem?

Guidelines for Publishing Information Online

General security

Understanding Anti-Virus Software

Understanding Firewalls

Coordinating Virus and Spyware Defense

Debunking Some Common Myths

Good Security Habits

Safeguarding Your Data

Keeping Children Safe Online

Attacks and threats

Preventing and Responding to Identity Theft

Recovering from Viruses, Worms, and Trojan Horses

Recognizing and Avoiding Spyware

Avoiding Social Engineering and Phishing Attacks

Email and communication

Understanding Your Computer: Email Clients

Using Caution with Email Attachments

Staying Safe on Social Network Sites

Mobile devices

Protecting Portable Devices: Physical Security

Protecting Portable Devices: Data Security

Privacy

How Anonymous Are You?

Protecting Your Privacy

Safe browsing

Shopping Safely Online

Browsing Safely: Understanding Active Content and Cookies

Understanding Internationalized Domain Names

Facta Non Verba