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Physical Security

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Sometime in 2007 an infected USB drive made contact with a military laptop on a U.S. base in the Middle East. This drive contained a malicious piece of software that would eventually infect the most secure computers on the planet – those belonging to the U.S. Department of Defense. It would take the Department of Defense over a year to completely erase this malware from all affected computers. It is suspected that this malware known as Agent.btz was planted by a foreign actor hoping to infiltrate the military’s computer network. This successful attack would serve as a rude awakening to the U.S. government about the need for a dedicated cyber defense program and led to the creation of the U.S. Cyber Command. 

All it takes is for one infected USB drive to compromise the data of a nation’s military – think about what the same drive could do to your device.   

Did you know...

The leading cause Links to an external site. of data breaches between 2005 to 2015 was theft and loss of devices.

How can you protect yourself?

Be prepared for data loss.

  • Make sure you always have backups of the data on your devices because you never know when your device may be damaged, stolen, or lost. 
    • Use one or more cloud services like OneDrive or Dropbox and set them up to automatically sync the data on your devices to cloud servers.
    • Invest in an external hard drive and regularly back up important files.

Log out of devices and accounts.

  • Protect your accounts and devices from unauthorized access by always logging out once you are done.

Keep your devices with you.

  • This may seem obvious, but if you don't have eyes on your device you can't be positive that it's safe.

USB devices aren't always what they seem Links to an external site..

  •  If you find an unattended USB drive do not insert it into your device - it is not uncommon for drives contaminated with malware to be left in conspicuous locations for an unsuspecting individual to find and use. 
    • Some USB drives and devices are actually programmed to be remote keyboards that enable hackers to type commands on your device.
  • Any device that connects to your computer using a USB interface can be a vector for malware. You should not use USB peripheral devices like mice, keyboards, etc. that have an unknown history.

Invest in a privacy screen.

  • Purchasing a privacy screen for your phone or laptop can prevent someone with malicious intent from seeing your personal information or passwords.