Electronic Communications, the Pleasures and Perils
By Andy Terry
In a little less than a generation, computers have gone from being cumbersome and expensive devices that could swallow the entire desk of those who could afford them. Today, those obsolete behemoths have been mostly replaced by tablets and cell phones with processing power that was once unimagined. With these devices, the internet has become all but ubiquitous. Bills are paid, grandchildren are facetimed, and small groups gather in this season of distancing. Yet while enjoying all of this convenience, there are bad actors who make their living preying on the unsuspecting consumer by turning their otherwise user experiences into nightmares. This sometimes results in irreparably damaging phones or other devices. I’d like to spend the next few moments, speaking of these threats and how to avoid them.
While some hackers will devote time and energy to defeating the passwords of high value targets, like banks or credit providers, most will rather let the unsuspecting user provide it voluntarily. Most commonly, this is done through various “phishing” techniques to have one simply reply to the email, to “spoofing” where the individual may take on the false identity of an entity like Amazon to alert you to the status of a purchase. In the past two weeks, we saw this as many in the Diocese received email from their “Rectors” asking assistance in purchasing comfort items or gift cards for a hospitalized parishioner. Beyond the threat of spoofing, darker threats exist ranging malware (viruses, Trojan horses, etc.), to ransomwares that will render your device inoperable unless a fee is paid to the hacker. It does sound grim but just as Goliath was taken down by a small stone, there are small things we can do to stave off this mischief.
All of our electronic communications devices should be protected by antivirus software. Consult the independent product reviews in order to make an informed decision when considering your purchase. Your second strong line of defense is determining who the true sender of the email actually is. An email received with “Father Scott” in the sender’s ID may look legitimate, but a mouse over may reveal an address of therevscott@google.ru. Do not open these. If you’re unsure of the validity of an email, its best to simply delete without opening it.
Finally, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has a public website providing info in avoiding cybercrime at the following address: https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/cyber
The Rev. Andy Terry is a Deacon at All Saints’ Woodbridge, VA and a Supervisory Electronics Technician and Program Manager of the FBI’s Nontraditional Tracking Program.