DoD Warns Troops & Families to be Cyber Crime Smart

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DoD Warns Troops & Families to be Cyber Crime Smart

For all of us ??

Defense Department employees and their families should be vigilant when

guarding personal and work information from expanding cyber-criminal

activity, and to know how to recognize scammer tactics, according to DoD’s

chief information officer.

Terry A. Halvorsen issued a DoD-wide memorandum March 18 about the growing

threat of cybercrime “phishing” and “spear phishing” in emails, on social

media sites and through phone calls.

“Phishing” is defined as sending fraudulent emails that claim to be from

reputable sources, such as a recipient’s bank or credit card company, to gain

personal or financial information.

Recipients of such emails are often directed to fraudulent websites that

mimic familiar sites. Phishers ask recipients to “update” or “confirm”

accounts, which discloses confidential information such as Social Security

and credit card numbers.

“Spear phishing” is the latest twist on phishing. It targets companies and

government agencies through “select employees” with fraudulent emails, which

appear to come from trusted or known sources. When employees click on links

in the emails, hostile programs enter the organization’s computers.

Cyber-crime tactics evolving

While military members and DoD civilians are routinely trained in recognizing

cyber security red flags, DoD also wants its workforce’s families and parents

to be prepared to deal with suspicious email, he added.

These cyber criminals also track and mine social media accounts such as

Facebook, LinkedIn and others “to interact with people and compromise

accounts,” Halvorsen said.

Arm Yourself with Knowledge

“Phishing continues to be successful because attackers do more research,

evolve their tactics and seek out easy prey,” he said. “We need to arm

ourselves and our families with defensive skills and knowledge to protect

[against] being victimized by a phishing email, computer or phone scam.”

Halvorsen advises these safeguards to protect against phishing and spear

phishing, which can also lead to identity theft:

Never trust links or account/password prompts within email messages.

Note that phishing emails sometimes have poor grammar or misspelled words.

Do not trust information-seeking emails and phone calls, and verify such

threats.

Never provide your user identification and/or password.

Refuse social media connection requests from anyone you haven’t personally

met.

Use spam filters for personal email.

Never email personal or financial information, even if you know the person

requesting it.

Be wary of pop-ups; don’t click links or enter any data.

Don’t copy web addresses from a pop-up into a browser.

Don’t click on links, download files or open attachments.

Halvorsen encourages service members and families to share the resources with

friends and communities.

http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=128433

http://science.dodlive.mil/2015/04/13/dod-warns-troops-families-to-be-cyber-crime-smart/