HAS
YOUR BUSINESS BEEN HACKED?
Please Partner With Us.
02/09/05
On February 9, Steve
Martinez, head of our Cyber Division, addressed the Third Annual
Cyber Security Alliance
Summit in Tampa, Florida.
Who was there? Law
enforcement officers; executives from business, banks, and brokerage
firms; and university professors—all engaged in one of today's
most burning issues: "Securing the Cyber Infrastructure," the
theme of the conference.
What was Steve's
primary message? "We need your help!" And by that
he means help from all levels of U.S. and international law enforcement...help
from the brilliant techie minds and ideas of private industry and university
research...and, above all, help from victimized businesses—specifically,
reports of attacks on their computer systems.
Why "above
all" from victimized companies? Because we need a more
comprehensive intelligence base of all the tools and techniques hackers
are using to attack the cyber infrastructure. If we don't have that
information—and we estimate we get reports on only about a third
of all intrusions into business computer systems—we can't be
predictive. We can't be proactive. We can't parse out criminal signatures,
much less chase down the criminals who are cheerfully hacking credit
card or trade secret information from one company then moving to the
next when their breach is discovered and closed. Bottom line: your
combined reports to us will help protect you and your never-quite-invulnerable
systems from insidiously clever criminal hackers.
In Steve's words, "So
the successful future of cyber cases lies not in merely protecting your
own systems. If there are criminals out there who are going to continue
hitting company after company, it is essential that we go after them
aggressively. The sanction, and the most effective deterrent, has to
be putting these criminals in jail. Now and in the future we need your
cooperation as victim companies to help provide us with the intelligence
and evidence that will enable us to do just that."
How to make
a report? File a complaint online at the Internet
Crime Complaint Center...or contact your
local field office. And don't worry: our agents have been closely
trained to be discreet, to protect your public image and your intellectual
property, and to not disrupt your operations.
How can you
become our partner? Join a local InfraGard
Chapter—part of a national organization that's dedicated
to protecting your computer systems and everyone else's. As a member,
and at no cost to you or your business, you'll have access to special
training; to DHS/FBI threat alerts, advisories, and warnings; to cyber
professionals; and to other businesses that are dealing with your same
issues.
Want to know
more about the big picture of current and future threats to cyber security? We
encourage you to read Steve's
speech in its entirety.