October 3,
2016
National Cyber Security Awareness Month
Cyber Security is
Everyone's Responsibility
Data
breaches resulting in the compromise of personally identifiable information of
thousands of Americans. Intrusions into financial, corporate, and government
networks. Complex financial schemes committed by sophisticated cyber criminals
against businesses and the public in general.
These are just a few examples of crimes perpetrated online over
the past year or so, and part of the reason why Director James Comey,
testifying before Congress last week, said that “the pervasiveness of the cyber
threat is such that the FBI and other intelligence, military, homeland
security, and law enforcement agencies across the government view cyber
security and cyber attacks as a top priority.” The FBI, according to Comey,
targets the most dangerous malicious cyber activity—high-level intrusions by
state-sponsored hackers and global cyber syndicates, and the most prolific
botnets. And in doing so, we work collaboratively with our domestic and
international partners and the private sector.
But it’s important for individuals, businesses, and others to be
involved in their own cyber security. And National Cyber Security Awareness
Month—a Department of Homeland Security-administered campaign held every
October—is perhaps the most appropriate time to reflect on the universe of
cyber threats and on doing your part to secure your own devices, networks, and
data.
What are some of the more prolific cyber threats we’re currently
facing?
Ransomware is type of malware that infects computers and restricts
users’ access to their files or threatens the permanent destruction of their
information unless a ransom is paid. In addition to individual users,
ransomware has infected entities such as schools, hospitals, and police
departments. The actors behind these sophisticated schemes advise the users
that if they pay the ransom, they will receive the private key needed to
decrypt the files. Most recently, these cyber criminals—demonstrating some
business savvy—give victims the option of decrypting one file for free to prove
that they have the ability to restore the locked files. More on ransomware.
Business e-mail
compromise, or BEC, scams continue to impact many businesses across the U.S. and
abroad. BEC is a type of payment fraud that involves the compromise of
legitimate business e-mail accounts—often belonging to either the chief
executive officer or the chief financial officer—for the purpose of conducting
unauthorized wire transfers. After compromising a company’s e-mail
account—usually through social engineering or malware—the criminals are then
able to send wire transfer instructions using the victim’s e-mail or a spoofed
e-mail account. BEC scams have been reported in all 50 states and in 100
countries and have caused estimated losses of more than $3 billion worldwide. More on BEC scams.
Intellectual property
theft involves robbing
individuals or companies of their ideas, inventions, and creative
expressions—often stolen when computers and networks are accessed by
unscrupulous competitors, hackers, and other criminals. Intellectual property
can include everything from trade secrets and proprietary products and parts to
movies, music, and software. And the enforcement of laws protecting
intellectual property rights (IPR)—which are critical to protecting the U.S. economy,
our national security, and the health and safety of the American public—is an
FBI criminal priority. The Bureau’s IPR focus is the theft of trade secrets and
infringements on products that can impact consumers’ health and safety,
including counterfeit aircraft, automotive, and electronic parts. More on intellectual property theft.
“The FBI is doing everything we possibly can, at every level, to
make it harder for cyber criminals to operate,” says Associate Executive
Assistant Director David Johnson, “and I believe many of them are now starting
to think twice before they put fingers to keyboard. But we also ask that the
public do its part by taking precautions and implementing safeguards to protect
their own data.”
Check back on our website during the month of October for
information on protecting your data and devices and on FBI efforts to combat
the most egregious cyber criminals.
Resources:
- Internet Crime
Complaint Center (IC3)
- More on
National Cyber Security Awareness Month
- Department of
Justice’s Best Practices for Victim Response and Reporting of Cyber
Incidents
- U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team cyber
security tips
- Department of Homeland Security cyber security
information
- Stay Safe Online website
- FBI Cyber’s Most Wanted
- More on FBI efforts to combat cyber crime
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