Bangkok--13 May--Core & Peak
When ancient Greeks held the Olympics, the only Trojan horse likely on their minds was a wooden one that led to the fall and destruction of Troy. For the upcoming 2008 Olympics, travelers to Beijing who bring laptops, cell phones and smartphones may need to contend with a very different type of Trojan horse: One that won’t cause a major city to fall, but it may steal your digital identity, bank information, credit card and social security numbers via the Internet.
According to analysts, because of China’s strict government control over Internet use, many have a false sense of security and believe they don’t need to protect themselves from malware attacks. The reality, however, is that China’s problem with viruses, spam, malware and identity theft is growing. Asia, as a whole, is grabbing more and more of the infection pie from North America even though the number of Internet users is considerably less. And despite government crackdown in the last few years, illegal Internet cafes continue to proliferate in various regions and counties across China; few of them are likely to consider the security of its clientele.
What does this all mean to Olympic travelers this summer who want to call home via their roaming cell phones? Or use their laptops to send pictures via the Internet to their friends and families? Or reporters and photojournalists who need to file their stories and photos of the various sporting events online and on deadline? Is updating your antivirus enough? What about using Bluetooth? Just earlier this month, Chinese mobile phone users were targeted by a Trojan that attempted to extort money from users of Symbian Series 60 phones.
Trend Micro’s Dave Perry is not only a security expert, but an avid traveler who logs thousands of miles every year. For more tips on how to protect your digital data while traveling in a foreign country, please contact:
Mild Security.
1) Use removable storage media to store critical data.
2) All data including the information on the removable media should be backed up.
3) Before leaving on a trip, firewalls, intrusion detection systems and antivirus applications should be updated.
4) Any equipment that is not needed or not in use should be turned off.
Medium security
1) Only take the information needed just the bare minimum, only the data necessary to accomplish your goals.
2) Documents should be duplicates, not originals.
3) Use encryption to protect critical data Because wireless capabilities enable hackers to
burrow into hard drives, travelers can no longer assume that data is safe even if it is on a hard drive.
4) digital devices should never be left unattended in hotel rooms.
5) Removable media should be carried
6) Laptops or other hardware should be locked in a hotel or room safe.
Paranoid Security
1) Do NOT use free connections without encryption
2) never perform work-related tasks using public Internet kiosks.
3) Change all your passwords when you get home.
4) When traveling, a more restricted user account should be established on a laptop, and the regular user account should be suspended until returning home.
5) The temporary account should be wiped clean before
plugging a laptop into a home or office network.
Media Contact:
Bussakorn Sonthikorn, Srisuput Siangyen
PR Consultant, Core & Peak Co.,Ltd.
Tel. 0-2439-4600 ext. 8202, 8300
e-mail: [email protected], [email protected]