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Cyber security depends on computer users themselves. That was the message presented to about 200 Cape High School students as the school launched its internet safety program with a student assembly held in the Little Theatre Friday, Oct. 27.
Rep. Pete Schwarzkopf, D-Rehoboth, told students he wants to make them, their parents and community members aware of what can happen when information is put out on the internet. Relying on his experiences as a former state trooper and as a legislator, Schwartzkopf warned students that what might seem a harmless joke today could destroy one’s dreams in the future.
Talk of driving drunk, wanting to try drugs or a joking comment about blowing up a school could prevent a person from getting a job with the FBI 10 years from now. “It may be something funny for you guys now, but once it gets out of your world, it can hurt you,” Schwartzkopf said.
The potential impact of internet statements made today can last forever, Schwartzkopf said. “When you put something on the internet it is there for life. It will follow you for the rest of your life. We can give you information but you have to use it to make the right decisions,” he said.
State logs all state email
Keynote presenter and chief security officer Rick Truitt of the Delaware Department of Technology and Information told the students, “All traffic from the schools, from the state, goes through me.” State offices, including school computers, process more than one million pieces of e-mail every day, and that information is logged, regarding all internet use, he said.
When Truitt asked students how many had lied online about whom they are, about one-third of the students raised their hands. The U.S. Department of Justice estimates that there is one pedophile for every 100 to 200 internet users, which he said makes internet use among the greatest dangers they face. “There is no validation that the person you are talking to is who you think you’re talking to,” he said.
He said using his son’s computer, he began chatting with people who had no indication they were no longer chatting with his son. Truitt re-emphasized, “You will never know for certain who you are talking to.”
Truitt recommended that students not give out personal information. “No school, no team, no name, no grade, no age,” he said.
He presented an example of a nonthreatening internet conversation, and had the students tell him how much he had inadvertently revealed about himself. On the list were his name, the building he worked in, the floor he worked on, the name of the receptionist, and that he lived alone.
“That’s all someone needs to call the place where I work, ask for the receptionist by name, say I told him to call, and get anything he wants - from my schedule to my cell number. It is all someone needs for me to become a target for a predator, for identity theft, or for some other internet-related crime,” Truitt said.
Cyber crime has now become more profitable to criminals than illegal drug sales, he added.
At its most basic level, identity thieves are willing to spend up to $1,000 for your date of birth, Social Security number and a credit card number, he said.
All information is logged for every internet communication in and out of a state computer, Truitt said. “The request, destination, whether you received a response, what was sent – everything,” he said. This is what enabled the state officials to discover information about students who tried to hack NASA by building their own chat servers in school and students who committed credit card fraud. For general protection, Truitt recommended that home computers should be protected with a firewall and that hot fixes be kept current to provide protection against malicious codes and viruses.
Cape’s assembly was part of the internet safety program, “iSafe,” and part of National Cyber Security Awareness Month – a collaborative effort between the state Department of Technology and Information, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Department of Justice, the National Cyber Security Alliance, and others.
Delaware provides additional information at http://dti.delaware.gov/information/cybersecurity.shtml.
Seven steps to computer safety:
1. Protect your personal information.
Don’t share it unless you know how it will be used and protected.
Don’t reply to or click on links in an e-mail that ask for personal information.
This will help prevent identity theft.
2. Know whom you’re dealing with.
When shopping online look for the seller’s physical address and working telephone number. Read the fine print before downloading free software that may come with spyware.
3. Use anti-virus software and a firewall and update them regularly.
Anti-virus software should recognize current viruses and older ones, effectively reverse damage and update automatically.
4. Set up operating system and web browser software properly and update regularly.
Select security settings high enough to reduce risk of being hacked.
5. Protect your passwords.
Keep them in a secure place and don’t share them on the internet, over e-mail or on the telephone.
6. Back up important files.
Computer files containing important information should be copied onto a removable disc and stored in a safe place.
7. Learn whom to contact if something goes wrong online.
One place to contact is http://OnGuardOnline.gov where you can click on “File a Complaint” to learn how to respond if a problem occurs when you’re online.
Source: OnGuard Online, a website maintained by the Federal Trade Commission.
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