Little Rock AFB is under attack in cyberspace Published Nov. 5, 2009 LITTLE ROCK AIR FORCE BASE, Ark. -- Like most military bases, Little Rock Air Force Base's computer systems are under attack by hackers, criminals and nation states which are hostile toward our country. Thousands of cyber hack attempts are recorded each month as increasingly sophisticated cyber attacks from many sources seek to penetrate our computer network defenses. Evidence strongly suggests that the Chinese government is conducting a sophisticated hacking campaign to steal U.S. government and industry secrets, according to a new report prepared for a Congressional panel. The North Korean government was the source of high-profile cyberattacks in July that caused Web outages in South Korea and the United States, according to news reports published Friday. It's known that al-Qaeda is interested in cyberterrorism. Seized al-Qaeda computers show details about Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition, also known as SCADA, systems in America. These systems control critical infrastructure, including electrical grids, nuclear plants, fiber-optic cables, oil and gas pipelines, dams, railroads and water storage and distribution facilities. SCADA systems were never meant to be accessed by the public, but many are now controlled via the Internet, leaving them vulnerable to infiltration and attack. The al-Qaeda computers also contained schematics of a U.S. dam, along with engineering software that enabled operatives to simulate its catastrophic failure and flooding of populated areas. One al-Qaeda safe house in Pakistan was devoted to the operational study of Internet attacks, according to terrorism expert Magnus Ranstorp. In addition to adversarial Nation States and terrorist organizations there are many cyber criminals seeking to steal your money and your identity as evidenced by the following headlines. Users of social networking site Facebook should be aware. Cyber crime and phishing scams on the rise - USA Today reported two botnet gangs ramped up cyberattacks on Facebook members, targeting them with phishing e-mails in hopes they could gain control of users' Facebook accounts. Cybercrime is on the rise. Innovative ways of cheating and fraud are becoming more and more sophisticated and rampant with the advance in technology, and cyber crime heads the list. Fred Touchette, a senior security analyst has informed of yet another scam, where a legitimate looking replica of a popular site has been created and people are being tricked into providing passwords, thus downloading a virus which can steal their financial data. U.S. officials said government computer systems are probed or scanned millions of times a day, and face an increasing threat from hackers, cyber criminals looking to steal money or information, and nation-states aimed at espionage or the destruction of networks that run vital services. The United States is well behind the curve in the fight against computer criminals, Sen. Joe Lieberman said recently, as Homeland Security officials opened a $9 million operations center to better coordinate the government's response to cyberattacks. Department of Defense and Air Force leaders are tightening defenses and battening down the hatches to protect computer systems and sensitive information however, officials need help to prevent social engineering attacks. Here are some dos and don'ts. - Do use a hardware firewall (router) on your home Internet connection - Do use a software firewall (such as Windows Security Center) on all home computers - Do use Anti-Virus and Anti-Spyware software on all home computers - Do use Windows Update to ensure all home computers have the latest security patches - Do talk to your children about safe computing, e-mail and social networking ---------------------------------------------------- - Do not open suspicious emails no matter who it's from - Do not click on web links contained in suspicious emails - Do not forward or reply to any suspicious emails - Do not post Personally Identifiable Information, For Official Use Only or other sensitive information on Facebook, Twitter or any other social networking web site - Do not use thumb drives or other flash media on government computers Google your name, your phone number and your children's names, you may be surprised by what you find. Situational awareness will help keep your family and our nation much safer. (Information courtesy of Mr. Ammon Leeson and the 19th Communications Squadron)