Saturday, May 7, 2016
BUSINESS & TECH
East Oregonian
Why you should care
about cyber security
BRIEFLY
Free seminar on
social media
A
s we have become
email, or click on a link.
more connected
Any of those actions can
through e-mail, social give the bad guys your
media, and now through
password or download
the “Internet of Things”
spyware onto your computer.
(devices that talk to each
Ransomware attacks
other without human
are becoming
interaction), we
more and more
have become more
common as well.
vulnerable than we
Cyber-criminals gain
ever imagined.
access to a business
Hacktivists, nation
or individual’s data
state sponsored
and encrypt it so
entities and cyber-
that you can’t access
criminals are actively
your data. They’ll
Joseph
targeting individuals,
unencrypt it only
Franell after you pay them
businesses and
Comment
governments. Who
a ransom. Cyber-
are these criminals,
criminals mostly
how do they attack us,
focused this kind of attack
and how do we defend
on individuals but are more
ourselves?
often beginning to target
Threats come in three
enterprises. The Board of
general forms. Hacktivists
Water and Light in Lansing,
are focused on digital
Michigan, was a victim of
vigilante justice. Examples
a ransomware attack last
are the group Anonymous
month, and they had to lock
and the Islamic Jihad.
down their entire network
Anonymous is a loosely
for more than a week while
associated group of hackers
they purged and restored all
who attack government,
of the impacted data.
religious, and corporate
Why should you care?
websites, mostly through
Here are my top two
distributed denial of service
reasons.
attacks (DDoS). In recent
First, cyber-attacks cost
years, they are famous for
money and we all bear the
targeting Israel, al-Qaeda
additional burden of those
and Donald Trump. The
costs. For example, we pay
Islamic Jihad is famous for
more credit card overhead
hacking Israeli surveillance
(interest and fees) on
drones, allowing them to see every transaction because
what the drones saw for at
companies have to recoup
least two years before being
their losses. Secondly,
discovered.
cyber-threats to utilities and
Nation state sponsored
national security put our way
entities’ main focus is
of life at risk.
twofold: espionage and
I’ve recently attended
causing physical damage.
two brieings by leaders
It is assumed that most
in this ield, and both left
governments participate
me feeling nauseous and
in this against other
vulnerable. The bad news
governments. Just last
is that there is no way to
year, ISIS (a nation state
absolutely protect yourself
sponsored entity) was
or your company. And many
credited with attacks against people and organizations do
the U.S. Central Command,
little or nothing to secure
Mountain View Telegraph,
themselves, which makes
Newsweek, 54,000 Twitter
them the easy and obvious
accounts, France, and
targets for the criminals.
Global French TV network
A long time ago, a friend
TV5Monde.
told me a joke that went
Finally, and perhaps of
something like this: “You
most concern to the majority and a friend are walking in
of us, are cyber-criminals.
the woods when suddenly
These are the people and
you are confronted by an
organizations that engage
angry bear. How fast do you
in identity theft, credit card
have to run to get away?”
fraud, tax return fraud,
The answer was: “You
medical fraud, and corporate just have to run faster than
fraud.
your friend.” Protecting
For businesses, cyber-
yourself from hackers and
criminals are not just bad
cyber-criminals is much like
guys from Ukraine, Russia,
that. You just need to make
and China; they may be
it dificult enough for them
members of the janitorial
that they move on and attack
staff, vendors, visitors,
someone else.
and employees. Often,
How do you accomplish
cyber-attacks begin with a
that? Here are some
physical breach either by an
practical tips that will help:
insider stealing information
• Immediately change
from the company’s
default passwords on
computers or a visitor/
wireless devices.
vendor installing a keystroke
• Use strong passwords.
reading program or device
Strong passwords are not
on speciic computers.
easily recognizable words.
Keystroke readers allow
They use a combination of
the criminal to see every
upper- and lowercase letters,
keystroke you make on your and special characters. Also,
keyboard. This allows them
they are long. I am told that
to get login and password
attackers, with all of the
information for various
power of cloud computing
systems and websites.
at their disposal, can crack
Wireless keyboards can be
encrypted passwords of eight
fairly easily hacked remotely (8) characters in a matter of
(from just outside a building) minutes (depending on the
which makes it even easier
complexity of the password).
to get keystroke information.
• Change passwords
Another common
regularly.
attack approach is social
• Use good virus,
engineering, either in person spyware, and irewall
or over the phone. Social
protection.
engineers often pose as
• DON’T EVER open
computer or IT support
emails from people or
technicians and convince
organizations that you don’t
you to reveal your login
know.
credentials or give them
• DON’T EVER click
remote access to your
links in emails or on social
computer. Cyber-criminals
media if you are unsure of
also exploit known
the origin.
weaknesses in software
• If a bank or other
conigurations or software
entity asks you to update
that has not been “patched”
information, don’t use a link
or updated.
in an email to get there. Go
Most home cyber-attacks
to the company’s website
come from wireless devices
directly to do the updates.
that still have their default
At your place of work,
passwords and through
make sure you have good
“phishing” emails. When
policies in place and enforce
you buy a wireless router or
them. Keep all of your
home automation device,
software patched/updated.
it comes with a default
Limit access to your systems
password. Sadly, most people and educate your employees
never change the default
on cyber-security.
after they install the device.
I liken the above to
Default passwords are widely learning as a child to look
known and make it simple
both ways before crossing the
for hackers to access your
street. Cyber vulnerability is
home computer and network. just part of the world we live
Criminals have found ways
in. Taking steps to stay safe
to turn off alarm systems and
should become as natural as
even unlock doors.
looking both ways before
Phishing emails look like entering a crosswalk.
they come from someone
■
you do business with (bank,
Joseph Franell is the
internet company, retail
CEO of Eastern Oregon
store, etc.) and often ask
Telecom, an internet and
you to validate account
phone company based in
Hermiston.
information, change your
Page 9A
AP Photo/Matt York, File
Electricians install solar panels on a roof for Arizona Public Service company
in Goodyear, Ariz.
GOP states beneit from
shift to wind, solar energy
WASHINGTON (AP) — If there’s a
War on Coal, it’s increasingly clear which
side is winning.
Wind turbines and solar panels
accounted for more than two-thirds of all
new electric generation capacity added to
the nation’s grid in 2015, according to a
recent analysis by the U.S. Department of
Energy. The remaining third was largely
new power plants fueled by natural gas,
which has become cheap and plentiful as a
result of hydraulic fracturing.
It was the second straight year U.S.
investment in renewable energy projects
has outpaced that of fossil fuels. Robust
growth is once again predicted for this year.
And while Republican lawmakers in
Washington have fought to protect coal-
ired power plants, opposing President
Barack Obama’s efforts to curtail climate-
warming carbon emissions, data show their
home states are often the ones beneiting
most from the nation’s accelerating shift to
renewable energy.
Leading the way in new wind projects
are GOP strongholds Texas, Oklahoma
and Kansas, home to some of the leading
critics of climate science and renewable
energy incentives in Congress. Republi-
can-dominated North Carolina trails only
California in new solar farms, thanks
largely to pro-renewables polices enacted
years ago under a Democratic legislature.
The most dramatic change has been seen
in the plummeting cost of emissions-free wind
energy, which has declined by two-thirds in
the last six years thanks to the availability of
cheaper, more eficient turbines. An annual
analysis by the investment irm Lazard deter-
mined that wind energy is now the lowest-cost
energy source, even before federal green-en-
ergy tax incentives are factored in.
“We are entering the era of renew-
ables,” former Vice President Al Gore
said Thursday at the Climate Action 2016
conference in Washington. “It’s a very
exciting new reality.”
Billions of dollars in private equity are
going to construct massive new renewables
projects, especially in the Sun Belt and
Great Plains. Thousands of miles of new
high-voltage transmission lines are also
under construction to send power from the
wind and sun from the sparsely populated
areas where it is collected to the urban
centers where it’s needed.
Even with the surge in new projects,
energy from such renewable sources as
wind, solar and water accounted for only
about a tenth of total U.S. power genera-
tion last year.
Still, the U.S. leads the world in wind
energy with about 48,800 utility-scale
turbines operating across the country,
generating enough electricity to power about
20 million homes. By 2030, the Energy
Department estimates wind will provide a
ifth of the nation’s electricity.
HERMISTON —
Business owners looking to
improve their presence on
social media are encouraged
to take a class offered
through the Hermiston
Chamber of Commerce.
Take Your Social Media
Marketing to the Next Level
is Monday from 3-5 p.m. at
the Hermiston Conference
Center, 415 S. Highway 395.
The free seminar will
provide tips on using
photos and videos, what
type of content to create
and examples of how other
organizations are utilizing
social media for marketing.
To pre-register or for
more information, contact
kelly@hermistonchamber.
com or 541-567-6151.
Mittelsdorf to
speak at chamber
IRRIGON — Lisa
Mittelsdorf, economic
development director at
the Port of Morrow, is the
featured speaker during the
upcoming Irrigon Chamber
of Commerce meeting.
The no-host luncheon is
Wednesday at 11:45 a.m.
at Stokes Landing Senior
Center, 195 N.W. Opal Place,
Irrigon. The cost is $8 for
chamber members and $10
for non-members.
For more information,
contact 541-922-3857
or irrigonchamber@
irrigonchamber.com.
U.S. hiring slowed
amid tepid growth
WASHINGTON (AP) —
U.S. employers pulled back
on hiring in April, adding
160,000 jobs, the fewest in
seven months, after a streak
of robust monthly gains. The
unemployment rate remained
at a low 5 percent, roughly
where it has been since fall.
Last month’s hiring gain
marked a drop from the
average increase of 200,000
over the past three months.