IA office advice for combating the unseen enemy

  • Published
  • By the 319th Communication Squadron
  • Information Assurance Office
GRAND FORKS AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. --  Productivity and security have never seen eye to eye. In today's high-speed environment, we find ourselves lured into the quick turn-around, the quick sell, and the conveniences of today's technology. It's tempting; to say the least, to use whatever means to get the job done in an "efficient, timely manner." Security finds itself taking a backseat due to never-ending demands and deadlines. The technology of today gives us the means to do our jobs with apparent efficiency and speed. It also gives our adversaries those same capabilities. 

More than 70 million computers nationwide were infected by viruses in 2008. Despite all of our dedicated resources, the Department of Defense network was no exception. Through the use of one of the most convenient media devices we've known to date, USB flash-based devices, the DoD was infected with malware in November, 2008. The malware entered through files that launched automatically when the USB drive was connected to the computer. This threat prompted a DoD-wide ban of all flash memory devices from being connected to the network. A sample of typical items includes "thumb drives," smart phones (i.e. BlackBerry®), cell phones, MP3 players and digital cameras. 

So, how did this happen? The answer is simple: through our drive to get things done fast and with minimal inconvenience. Flash-based media gave us the tool to take work home or bring files in from home. We plug them into everything -- kiosks, friends' computers, hotel computers, laptops, home computers and work computers. It was just a matter of time before someone exploited our reckless approach to security. We became used to technology protecting us blindly with little regard to how our own actions could be dangerous. Non-government owned devices are especially dangerous. Users could easily introduce unauthorized software or virus infected data files from home, such as shareware programs, software pranks, MP3 files, video clips, pornography and other inappropriate files that violate DoD policies. Even worse is the prospect of spyware or keystroke loggers that could enable users (or worse -- hackers) to capture passwords or other sensitive information. 

To give you an idea how easily it was to infect the network, all an attacker or unaware user had to do to is take an infected "thumb drive," plug it into a computer, wait about 15 seconds and leave or move on to the next computer. The infection can include anything from keystroke loggers (keeps a record of every key used on a keyboard), viruses and data theft software. 

Imagine yourself in that position. You used your personally owned flash media device, plugged it into your work computer to transfer some MP3 files. Unfortunately, you just became another statistic. Your work files, personal information and maybe your user name and passwords have been "backed up," sliced into small pieces, compressed to a smaller file size and conveniently made available to an attacker on an encrypted channel -- all in a few minutes and completely unknown to you. 

The threat is real and the potential danger of this attack is immeasurable. Here are some suggestions to protect our network, protect our information and to protect you: 

- Use public computers and Wi-Fi networks with extreme caution. These areas are known to harbor every possible threat to you and your information. 

- Keep personal equipment at home and government equipment at work. A simple solution to finishing those reports, spreadsheets or Officer or Enlisted Performance Reports is to invest in a common access card reader for home use. E-mail the files you are working on to yourself, and log into your work e-mail from home to retrieve. 

- Check your anti-virus signatures for updates regularly, and keep your home computer up to date with the latest security patches and signatures. 

- Use the network for what it was intended. As a government owned system to be used by us in the day to day requirements of our official and professional duties. 

For additional information and guidance, contact Staff Sgt. Brian Browning at 747-4940 or Master Sgt. Kory Sola at 747-6158, both from the Information Assurance office.