Secret Service agent gives cybersecurity advice to Schaumburg business community
Cybersecurity expert Joe Kefer told members of the Schaumburg Business Association how to protect themselves from cyber crimes and fraud during a talk Tuesday morning.
Kefer, assistant to the special agent in charge at the Secret Service’s Chicago Field Office and its Cyber Task Force, explained what his agency does and what his audience could do to guard against online threats to their families and businesses.
This particular mission of the Secret Service has its roots in the agency’s origins to combat the counterfeit currency that had become a problem during the Civil War. There now are 44 Cyber Fraud Task Forces around the world to better assist victims of this form of crime, Kefer said.
“We’re here to help,” he emphasized. “If you’re a victim of cyber fraud, one of the people you should call is the Secret Service.”
“If you’re a victim of cyber fraud, one of the people you should call is the Secret Service,” says Joe Kefer, assistant to the special agent in charge at the Secret Service’s Chicago Field Office and its Cyber Task Force.
Joe Lewnard/[email protected]
Among the forms of cybersecurity the agency investigates are network intrusion, ransomware, data extortion, business email compromise and cryptocurrency trading.
Though any form of unauthorized access to a private computer network is a crime, most of the illegal activity the task force investigates stems from fraudulent use of emails to take money under a false pretext, Kefer said.
“That happens hundreds of times a day,” he added. “We can often get your money back, but you have to call us. You have to call us as soon as it happens.”
Regarding the emergence of cryptocurrency, Kefer said very few legitimate uses of it have been developed. He believes nearly all of its daily users are criminals and victims.
“I’m blatantly telling you to tell everyone you know not to use cryptocurrency at all,” he said. “It’s all fraud.”
About 90% of crimes using email come about through phishing, which is an attempt to get a victim to click on a link that will infect their network. All people, including a company’s employees, should regard emails with the same suspicion as a knock at the door in the middle of the night, Kefer said.
He advises everyone to change their passwords every 90 days and not reuse them across different sites, update software regularly to patch security vulnerabilities, and make sure one’s network is segmented to keep an infiltration of one part from affecting the whole.
When it comes to preventing ransomware, Kefer suggests backing up one’s data almost daily to prevent it from being lost or stolen.
Audience members listen as Secret Service Special Agent Joe Kefer discusses cybersecurity threats and prevention during the Schaumburg Business Association’s “Good Morning Schaumburg” breakfast Tuesday at Chandler’s in Schaumburg.
Joe Lewnard/[email protected]
“It’s not simple, but it is a solution,” he said. “Of course, it takes a lot of work and time. The government line is to constantly back up your system and don’t pay the ransomware. That’s easy for me to say, because I don’t own a company.”
He said those who do pay ransomware demands often find themselves a repeat victim.
While speed often is essential to the Secret Service’s ability to counteract cyber fraud, Kefer said it’s probably always worth making the call as a particular perpetrator may not be practiced enough to put stolen funds beyond the agency’s reach in a timely manner.
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