Expert offers tips to guard against online attacks

Erick Galindo, Staff Writer
Posted: 06/13/2011 09:58:17 PM PDT


No matter how big or strong the safe is, there is someone who can break into it.
Citigroup's disclosure last week that the names, account numbers and e-mail addresses of 200,000 of its credit card customers were stolen is a reminder that the technology used to protect their information was built by humans and can be breached by humans, security analyst Jacob Jegher said.

"People rely on the safety net of a bank to take care of their information. Unfortunately, that net has a lot of holes," said Jegher, a senior analyst at Celent, a research firm with offices in Washington, D.C., and San Francisco.

The Citi hack is only the latest major data breach. In just the past three months, hackers have penetrated 100 million Sony PlayStation accounts, the networks of Lockheed Martin and the customer e-mail databases of a company that does marketing for Best Buy and Target.

"This is open season for hackers. There has been an explosive growth in cybercrime, just within the last two weeks," said Stan Stahl, president of the the Los Angeles Chapter of the Information Systems Security Association.

On Wednesday, ISSA-LA will host 22 of the country's leading experts on Internet security at its annual summit, to be held on the UCLA campus. The event is open to the public. For more information about the event visit http://www.issa-la.org/.

Mark Volkoff, who runs Whittier- based Timely Techs Computer Services, said
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it's up to individual users to be vigilant about protecting themselves.
"The main thing is to be conscious of everything you are clicking on and doing online," he said. "The Internet is not a free-for-all. You have to watch what you are doing and what your children are doing."

For nearly a decade at 15945 Whittier Blvd., Volkoff`s Timely Techs (http://www.timelytechs.com/) has provided service to the San Gabriel Valley and surrounding communities. He offered some tips on how to protect yourself and your information from would-be hackers:

• Protect your user names and passwords. Volkoff advises his customers not to store their login information anywhere on the computer.

"There are lots of programs out there that offer to remember our passwords so we don't have to remember them," he said. "But that also gives access to hackers who can break into these systems."

Writing them down on a small of paper and keeping the paper somewhere safe, is a better option. You should also change your password every few months and vary the user names and passwords on your online accounts. Remember to change any user names and passwords that match those in an account that may have been hacked.

• Make sure you have good protection. According to Volkoff, a good firewall is the best way to prevent malicious attacks. And an anti-virus will help find and detect infections.

• Watch for scams. Make sure to verify in detail individuals or companies that ask you for information over the phone or via e-mail. And never pay anyone through e-mail. Banks and most companies will never take payment or account information via e-mail.

• If you are the victim of identify theft, report it to the authorities. Details on how to do that are at onguardonline.gov, a security site developed by several federal agencies.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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