On Jan. 17, TJX revealed that a hacker had broken into its computers, potentially compromising millions of credit- and debit-card numbers and drivers license data; it's been reported that thieves have used the numbers to make fraudulent purchases from Florida to Hong Kong. Security breaches can cause:
- loss of confidence, respect or trust.
- loss of reputation due to publicity of breach.
- network service stoppage or degradation.
- prosecution.
Here are some data security best practices to help you keep your sensitive information safe:
1. Physically secure your area, files, and equipment before leaving them unattended.
- Check doors, drawers, and windows.
- Lock up any sensitive materials before you leave your area.
- Never share your lock code, access card, key, etc.
2. Don’t keep important data on portable devices (laptops, CDs/floppys, memory sticks, PDAs, phones, etc.) unless you know how to properly protect it. These items are extra vulnerable to theft or loss.
3. Do not install unknown or unsolicited programs on computers, such as programs you find out about through email.
4. Lock, log off, or put your computer to sleep before leaving it unattended.
- <ctrl> <alt> <delete> on a PC
- Apple menu on a Mac
5. Your computer should require a password to start up or wake-up.
6. Use hard-to-guess passwords and keep them private.
7. Don’t click on web site addresses in email unless you REALLY know where you’re going. If an email is unsolicited or even slightly suspicious, look up the web site yourself and go there directly instead of clicking on an email link.
8. Ensure that authorized people use confidential information appropriately. Don’t divulge sensitive information, passwords, etc. over the phone, Internet or email, even to people claiming to need it. Be aware of the potential for others to overhear communications about sensitive information in public places.
9. The Internet is not private. Don’t provide personal, sensitive or confidential information to Internet sites, surveys, or forms unless you are using a trusted, secure web page.
10. Do not leave paper documents containing sensitive information unattended (e.g., fax, copy machine). Store sensitive paper documents in a locked file cabinet. Shred confidential paper documents that are no longer needed.
Useful web site for computer security tips:
United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team:
http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/tips/
Carnegie Mellon University, CERT Program:
http://www.cert.org/tech_tips/home_networks.html
CyberSmart Education Company
http://www.cybersmart.org/for/top_ten.asp