Finding a nice, new USB Flash Drive in your parking lot may not be the nice gift it appears to be. In a recent discussion with a university professor and cyber security expert (his resume includes overseeing Super Bowl security), I was told cyber terrorists are now strategically dropping USB flash drives in employee parking lots. Unsuspecting employees pick them up and pop them into their PCs, laptops, company computers, etc. to see if it’s a fresh flash drive they can now begin using. Unfortunately, the flash drive’s innocent looking and soon deleted contents contain malware that begins running immediately...and, voila, you and/or your company has now been compromised.
Just like militant terrorists, cyber terrorists continue exploiting simple weaknesses while we’re spending much of our time mitigating the big events like hacking, backup device theft, etc. Remain diligent in applying common sense in the matter of cyber security. I realize that one can easily become uber-paranoid or a walking conspiracy theorist; however, that’s the other extreme. Just stay vigilant, which may include reading blogs and posts from both extremes. You may come across that one tip or piece of information that saves you/your network countless dollars and hours of heartache. It really doesn't take much to remain vigilant in matters of cyber security.