Information Security and You

1. Information Security and You

George, age 50, and Michelle, age 35, may face up to five years in prison or a $300,000 fine or both. They set up an Internet auction site to defraud people bidding for computer merchandise. Customers used their credit card numbers, which were then misused by George and Michelle. These cyber thieves robbed at least 50 “customers” and made more than $50,000.

Were you one of their victims?

No? Watch out! You may not be so lucky the next time you bid online!

Many people out there can steal your personal information, inject viruses that corrupt the data on your computer, and misuse your network resources. Some do such things for fun while others have a criminal motive. Whatever the motive, such activities can cause loss of your confidential and critical information. Despite all the security measures taken by your institution, your information remains vulnerable at all times!

To avoid any security threat to your information, you should be careful while:

Creating and using passwords
Downloading files from the Internet
Sending or receiving e-mail messages
Sharing files over the Internet
Sharing personal information over the Internet

This course reveals the potential threats to information security and provides simple Do's and Don'ts for securing your information. Remember, you can secure your own information by following some very simple guidelines!