LIMA — An agent with the FBI capped off the Lima Regional Information Technology Alliance Tech Conference on Thursday with a presentation on how and why businesses are targeted for cybercrime.
Scott Halbur, a special agent with the FBI Cleveland Division, discussed three forms of cybercrime: counterterrorism-related intrusions, counterintelligence-related intrusions and criminal intrusions.
In all cases, criminals use several types of cybercrime to access and exploit information from businesses and private individuals. One of their methods is called “spear phishing,” which is an email that appears to be from an individual or business one is familiar with. However, it’s from the same criminal hackers who want credit card and bank account numbers, passwords and financial information found on computers.
The use of malware — hostile and intrusive software that includes computer viruses and other malicious programs — is also used. By clicking links in emails, for example, hackers can install this malicious software to steal personal information, Halbur said.
Hackers can also gain access to personal information if it can be found on your computer, or if someone has given away enough private details about themselves online. In either case, criminals can use this information to steal money or intellectual property from a business or individual.
Halbur said even if you think you don’t have anything on your computer that hackers could use, documents such as employee lists could be beneficial to criminals seeking to exploit personal information.
“Unfortunately, this is occurring more than you think,” Halbur said, adding that every local business represented at the conference has likely been monitored by hackers at some point.
To help avoid being hacked, Halbur recommends hiring “great security people,” understanding where your data is, when it’s being accessed and by whom, and educating employees on security risks. Halbur said even something as seemingly innocuous as listing your birthday on your Facebook page could lead to cybercrime.
Halbur also recommended that businesses utilize Infragard, a partnership between the FBI and the private sector that is dedicated to sharing information and intelligence to prevent hostile acts against the U.S.
He said the benefits of Infragard include easy access to the FBI, prompt dissemination of threat warnings, education and information on infrastructure vulnerabilities, and free or discount training on cybercrime. Interested businesses can sign up for the free service at infragard.org.
