Self Defense and Security Blog

It’s a High Tech Business
The Associated Press touted the headline, “Judge unplugs 2 teens who hacked into U.S. computers.” The two teens, ages 16 and 17, hacked into government and military computers apparently just to prove that they could. The punishment – three years probation that
excludes the teens from possessing a computer and modem, 100 hours of community service and $4,100 in reparations.
The term “hacking” means breaking into a computer system or network. These two teens broke into government computers. Imagine the type of personal and financial information that our government collects! More shocking is the military information that is accessible to hackers. What happens next? Is all information stored on computers vulnerable? Maybe. If you are connected to the Internet and have a Web page, you can be a target for hackers. Many government agencies, including the military, as well as businesses and home computer owners take great precautions to keep hackers out of their sensitive information. Encrypting files is the easiest and most common method of securing information before sending it over the Internet. Quite simply, encryption software scrambles the information. With the proper code,
the intended recipient’s computer can then unscramble it. Unfortunately, for every prevention method consumers employ, there is a “genius” out there trying to defeat it. The Back Orfice program, for example, was created to attack online users without their knowledge. If someone is using the Back Orfice program, they can literally infiltrate your computer while you are online. Once in your computer, the perpetrator can look at all your files and even delete files – again, while you have absolutely no clue that this is happening. This possibility brings up a question that every computer user should ask, “What type of information is on my hard drive?” If you have personal and
financial information on your hard drive, that information may be vulnerable. Consider storing personal and financial information on disks instead. Once the information is stored on disks, put the disks in a fireproof safe.
BUSINESS SAFETY
It is wise to consider people who may work for you and have access to your company computers as potential liabilities. It isn’t always the unknown people who cause irreparable damage to businesses. Often, information theft comes from within the ranks.
Fred Jones has a problem. An employee with administrative access to the company’s computer system suddenly quit and went to work for a competitor. Fred suspects that this employee stole proprietary information (sensitive company information) and took it to his new employer. Did Fred’s former employee commit a crime? And if he did, how can Fred, or law enforcement, prove that the former employee committed the crime of theft?
What do you think about this hypothetical situation? Did the employee commit a crime? Some say yes, some say no, some say maybe. The big unanswered question: did Fred have any type of written company policy pertaining to computer access and the storage of data? This is key. If you own any type of business and utilize computers, you should have a solid, written policy regarding computers. Without an acknowledged policy, it would be difficult to convict an employee of theft. Additionally, theft is not the only thing you need to worry about. Should your employee steal personal information on other employees or clients and that information is used to commit crimes, you may be held liable in civil court if you did not take reasonable measures to safeguard that information. Business owners, take note: create and implement a computer-related policy. Make sure that your employees read the policy and acknowledge it in writing. Preventing computer crime in a business doesn’t stop at creating a policy.
If you own a small business and are computerdependent, secure the information on your computers. Use the following crime prevention tips:
1.Conduct thorough background checks on all employees, including temporary help. If you need assistance, contact a firm that specializes in conducting background checks.
2. Do not allow temporary staff access to sensitive data.
3. Require employees to use passwords that are a combination of letters and numbers. These passwords should be kept confidential and changed often.
4. Initiate a company policy on backing up computers once a day. Secure all back up tapes or disks in a fireproof safe.
5. Secure client and personnel information. Access to this information should be limited.
6. Use surge and anti-virus protection on all computer systems.
7. Remove all data from the hard drive before disposing of computers.
8. Ensure that every computer operation can be handled by at least two trusted employees.
9. Adopt written procedures for Internet usage by employees. This discourages downloading inappropriate material and viruses.
10. Purge old records and information properly. Shred or erase the information so it cannot be used by others.
11. Adopt a zero tolerance approach to high tech criminals. Insist on prosecuting and pursue all civil remedies.
The $400 check looked real. The bank called and notified you that it was a fake. What happened? Your employee followed all of the check acceptance procedures and you even okayed it. The check looked real…
Another hypothetical situation, but businesses are being swindled out of merchandise through this means at an alarming rate. It is the world of high technology crime and the bad guys are working diligently. Computer-generated personal checks, money orders, food stamps and traveler’s checks are being manufactured on home computers and being passed off to the business community. For the bad guy, start-up costs are minimal, and many times, the bad guy uses stolen credit cards or fictitious checks to purchase the computer equipment. As a business owner, how do you know if the check is real or fake? Calling the bank to verify every single check is not an option, so it is up to you and your employees to weed out the bad ones. This can be extremely difficult since the majority of fake checks have a valid bank account number, and check verification machines will accept and endorse the document. The problem is that the account is good, but the name on the check does not go with the verified account.The account number was stolen and placed on the fake check. Additionally, fake picture identifications are also produced on home computers that match the checks. With all of this going on, how does a business owner combat this invasion of fake documents?

The following steps will help protect you and your company:
1.Review your check and credit card acceptance policies. Many businesses and banks have started to require a thumb print on all checks. Some businesses feel that this
practice may inconvenience their customers, and it is a controversial practice. The decision is yours.
1. Train your employees to check identification when a customer is using a credit card.
2. Employees should also make sure that the account number on the credit card matches the account number printed on the credit card receipt. Obviously, you won’t be able to spot every fake document, but alert employees can make a difference. Producing counterfeit or forged checks is not the only way criminals may
affect your bottom line. The bank calls to inform you that your company’s account is overdrawn, but your records indicate there should be more than sufficient funds left in the account. An investigation reveals that several substantial checks have been cashed which look identical to yours with what seems to be your signature
on them. However, the check numbers do not match your records. Welcome to desktop forgery. Criminals have learned that many companies, small and large, routinely pay small billing invoices without checking their records to see if the product or service was ordered or received. If they send a fraudulent billing invoice in a small amount for some vaguely described product or service, there is a good chance it will be paid. But they are not interested in cashing the check. They are interested in scanning the check into their computer, making a duplicate copy, changing the payee and the amount. They may make several or several hundred copies and you won’t know anything
until you receive a call from the bank or receive your monthly statement. Encourage your bookkeepers to track all invoices, whether large or small.

Don’t be a victim…Be Prepared….

This entry was posted on Saturday, November 15th, 2008 at 11:07 am and is filed under Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.