Security engineers talk cyber safety and protection

Statistics show around 73 percent of Americans have experienced some form of cyber crime; whether it be receiving an email from a scammer, or having your Facebook or email hacked.

Eastern Idaho Technical College in Idaho Falls hosted a cyber security summit Thursday to help people avoid becoming victims.

“You got to realize there are no more boundaries, there are no more borders,” said Tony Carothers, a security engineer.

Carothers said once you sit in front of a computer, your information isn’t just seen by you.

“Be aware of what data you’re putting out there and why,” said Carothers. “Your money, your data, this is your personal stuff.”

“You’ll hear it mentioned a lot, the ability to do what’s called ‘spear fishing,'” said Chris Roberts, a security engineer. “It’s the ability to take a look at a specific target and build information around them because we put so much of ourselves out there.”

With a few strokes of a keyboard, a cyber-attack can happen anywhere and it’s probably happened to you.

“You’re sharing pictures on Flickr or Facebook or YouTube, but take a step back and ask, ‘If I was a bad person, how much of this data could be used against me?'” said Roberts.

Hackers say most likely all of it. 75 million scam emails are sent every day, claiming nearly 2,000 victims and costing each one an average of $128.

Engineers said getting anti-virus software, email filters, and encrypting your information is only about 60 to 70 percent of the battle.

Being alert is another 10 to 20 percent, as everyone will always be vulnerable online.