More on the FBI's InfraGuard Program and Small Business
In my last post, I spoke to FBI Special Agent John Chesson, a 22- year- veteran of the FBI and the InfraGard program coordinator for the FBI's San Francisco office.
I asked Chesson why a small business owner without significant trade secrets to protect would want to join a local InfraGard chapter.
"The bad actors out there are not just going for trade secrets," Chesson explained. "The criminals out there are going for your personally identifiable information. They try to get into your personal bank accounts."
Chesson said every business has some valuable data, such as a client list and the client's personal information. Small businesses need to know the same methods used to protect the large corporations' information.
Chesson spoke of one case that illustrates the threat to small businesses. A man with a small importing/exporting business bid on an item online and someone infiltrated the businessman's free email account and intercepted his billing information. The criminal hacker immediately went to the businessman's bank account and withdrew money. It was an international transaction, so the bad guys probably weren't even in this country.
Who are the bad actors?
"They are basically from all walks of life. There are the thrill-seeker- type-hackers that are represented by what we call "Script Kiddies." They discovered that when you break into a system, you can actually make some money on it."
Chesson said there are the groups out there, like "Anonymous." that are trying to embarrass large corporations and the government. There are also organized crime groups who are targeting individuals and businesses with fraudulent schemes.
Chesson said the bad actors the FBI are most concerned about are the "Advanced Persistent Threat" groups, which are state-sponsored or sponsored by large corporations with international competitive markets.
To become an InfraGard member, Chesson said you should go to the InfraGard national web site, www.infragard.net, and find the "Become a member" tab. Fill out the online application, which will ask for some personal information. That information will allow the FBI to perform a criminal background check on you. In the process, you can select what chapter you want to affiliate with.
"If you live in San Francisco, you pick the San Francisco chapter and that goes into a queue for me to initiate the background check for people who want to be in my chapter," Chesson said.
Once you are approved, you will receive a welcome package and you will be given access to a secure web site where the FBI regularly posts unclassified but sensitive intelligence products concerning new threats and/or criminal activity that might be pertinent to your business.
"It is very important, regardless of the size of your business, that you understand the risks to your own security and how that will impact your business," Chesson said. "Today we have mobile devices, wireless, e-mail, and general web surfing. Your valuable data is at risk every time you access your network with these remote devices."
