PC Data Theft - Basic Classes

In this lesson you will learn:

Introduction to Data theft

The idea that data can disappear and re-appear somewhere else is what hacking is all about. The problem is that if it is done right then this kind of theft is totally invisible. How long it takes to be discovered, how to identify what was accessed, whether or not something was actually taken, when and by whom is called 'IT (Information Technology) Security'. With the best of skills, the hacker intends to keep access hidden and unknown, undiscovered and undetectable. However, with a few simple tricks, you can do a lot to either prevent it, recognize it or stop them in their tracks. The main advantage that he has is stealth and complacency: the idea that most people have that it could never happen to them! Statistics prove the error in this thinking, and it is not lost to the growing amount of hackers today. The purpose of this class is to help to make sure it doesn't happen to you!

Data theft

Cash or cards: which is more valuable? To a thief, by far the card. What makes the card valuable is the number on the card and the number on the back. With those two numbers, the thief can have all the cash they want (your cash, of course). Any computer that was used to purchase anything on line through ANY company at ANY time is a gold mine of information. Monetary theft is covered in greater detail in the class on Identity theft. Data theft involves the access of personal work files, folders or hard drives that contain documents, forms, or other data about you, your correspondence or your company logos, letterheads, signatures or projects that are in storage. The theft or access of this information is largely invisible: at least it is supposed to be as far as the hacker is concerned.

NOTE: Taking your life back after the fact is beyond the scope of this class. Tips included below are only general guidelines. You may need professional and legal help to undo the damage data theft has caused.

So lets look at the ways that data theft can happen.

The idea is that if you don't give others access to your data then it makes life tough for thieves.

How to Recognize Data Theft

The bad part is that sometimes there are no warnings. The easiest way to recognize what happens is to understand what the targets are. Because most computer users are so familiar with their computers and file locations, it makes it easy to overlook the tons of data collected over the months or years, to the point that anything that is 'old' can be changed and most would never know the difference. Some of the easiest targets have been mentioned already;

Preventing Data theft

One of the first things people think of in preventing data theft is to immediately call up someone else who they feel has the responsibility. But now that you recognize the targets and understand what your role is in data theft, it should become more clear on what specific methods you can do to prevent it as well as what to do when it happens to you.

Here is a list of the most common and simplest preventative techniques, in no particular order of importance:

Some are pretty obvious, like watching your physical handling of paper hard copies, care in leaving removable storage devices or media in plain sight or obvious locations, watching the trash and shredding and email policies. Some are not so obvious, like making sure that your SSN is not any part of passwords, usernames, pins or id numbers, especially through human resources departments. If they are, request a change.

Watch your targets. Files can be divided into four main categories:

All files have 'Properties'. The properties of an individual file can be seen by right clicking on the file and selecting 'Properties' which will show several specific details about the file, including locking status, password protection, sharing and access permissions, word count stats, file size, recent change status etc. For details on how to access or change these properties please see the class on files and folders and accessing drives earlier in this course.

In 'Windows Explorer', 'Finder', or 'Computer' (or 'My Computer'), selecting the View > Details on the menu will allow you to expose when the file was last accessed. This is important information. If you have not accessed the file, then take a screen shot (alt > Print Screen) of the explorer window that has the file information in it and paste it into a Word Processing document and keep it for your security records. There are also some things that a security department will do for you:

The next action depending on the account activity. If you feel your data has been compromised, follow the directions given by the company. Each company has a hotline to a security department that is dedicated to intrusion prevention. Missing data can be restored from backup, HOWEVER make sure that you have a list of which files are missing. Simple enough! Most of the preventative measures are actually habits. Getting into good habits takes time. Paper shredders are great security, and running a document through even a basic shredder is usually enough.