Image by isuru prabath from Pixabay
At first glance, the free WIFI service at Starbucks seems like a great idea for mobile professionals. Starbucks’ free Internet service was a response to growing competition.
McDonald’s upgraded coffee offerings and free WIFI, which have proved to be popular since the economic downturn. Starbucks launched its WIFI on July 1, 2010.
But the WIFI offering by Starbucks prompted a security warning and checklist from a go-to Internet security guru, Stan Stahl, Ph.D., of Citadel Information Group in Los Angeles.
Stan Stahl, Ph.D.
His commentary was entitled, “Free WIFI at Starbucks – Reminder of Cybersecurity Risk.”
“While most of the common risk is eavesdropping, one cannot overlook the risk of computer compromise,” writes Dr. Stahl.
His five security recommendations:
1. No online banking or other eCommerce
2. No e-mail containing sensitive information except via an approved encrypted link from PC to Mail Server
3. Keep anti-virus or host intrusion software up-to-date
4. Make sure software patches are up-to-date
5. Use VPN (virtual private network) for access to your office
From the Coach’s Corner, Dr. Stahl’s expertise is also quoted in these Biz Coach articles:
How to Protect Your Bank Account from the Internet Crime Wave — For Citibank customers and millions of other consumers who enjoy the convenience of online banking, a headline about Internet crime was alarming.
Strategic Planning: List of Informative Web Sites — Knowledge is power – if you use it. Here are informative Web sites to help you develop a strategic plan.
5 Safety Measures to Thwart Mounting Social-Network Attacks — An epidemic of social-networking attacks represents unprecedented dangers to companies. Here’s how a Facebook user cost her company a $1 million loss.
How China-Google Controversy Might Affect Business, Government Security — More fireworks between China and Google. But this time it’s from Chinese state media aimed at Google, Apple, Yahoo, Microsoft, Cisco Systems and Facebook. The Chinese journalists want the government to “to punish severely the pawns” of the U.S. government. The tech firms are accused of spying on China.
“You can’t hold firewalls and intrusion detection systems accountable. You can only hold people accountable.”
-Daryl White
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