Page 17 - Flathead Beacon // 6.4.14

FLATHEADBEACON.COM NEWS JUNE 4, 2014 | 17

‘Hacker Economy’ Booming as Companies

Increasingly Rely on Technology

Montana health depart- owners seeking to better understand the biggest retail hack in U.S. history.
computer viruses and how quickly they One person clicked an email link the
ment latest victim of
can compromise an entire world of vital days leading up to Thanksgiving, and
stealthy hacking
information.
instantly Target’s security and pay-
“In reality these are very sophisti- ments system was infected with a virus
cated programs and they’re designed to that stole every credit card used at 1,797
By DILLON TABISH of the Beacon
steal information,” said Sherri Davidof U.S. stores. In the aftermath, more than
with LMG Security, a Missoula-based 90 lawsuits have been iled against the
Last week the state’s health depart- irm that specializes in computer secu- national retailer and the company has
Date
ment discovered hackers had accessed rity.
spent more than $61 million responding
its computer server that contained per- Davidof gave a presentation detail- to the breach.
Night
sonal information and health records for ing the various types of threats that are All from the click of the mouse.
a still-unknown number of people the constantly putting companies at risk of a “In reality this was one employee
agency serves across Montana.
security breach. A common misconcep- who happened to click on a phishing
Starting in July 2013, hackers used tion is that smaller businesses are not email. It could have happened to any-
malware, or malicious software that frequent targets, but that’s not true, Da- body,” Davidof said.
can steal information or damage a com- vidof said.
Companies can enact preventative

puter system with the simple click of the Nearly 80 percent of the time, people measures by installing irewalls and an-
mouse, to gain entry to the Department who are hacked are “targets of opportu- ti-virus software, but the biggest defense
of Public Health and Human Services’ nity,” meaning someone happens to click is awareness, according to Davidof.
server that holds client names, address- on something, like a phishing or spam Companies should inform their em-
es, dates of birth and Social Security email or a fraudulent link ofering fake ployees of the dangers of opening suspi-
numbers. Also, the payroll and banking prizes. Once that happens, a computer is cious emails or links.
information for the department’s staf immediately infected with malware that “Don’t blindly click on any link that
Every
was made vulnerable. State oicials say is downloaded onto the computer, and arrives in your inbox,” she said.
there is no evidence of information be- then everything that computer is linked Instead, inspect where the email
ing stolen or used since the server was to, like a server.
came from and preview the link through
wednesday
irst hacked. An investigation has been “This is a worldwide epidemic,” said safe websites like bit.ly. Also, don’t be-
launched and the server that was hacked Bob Nystuen, president of Glacier Bank. lieve the websites that seem too good
in June
has been shut down and taken of the Nystuen compared the current gen-
to be true, for example ones that ofer
state computer system.
eration of hackers to the Old West days, “Free iPads,” she said.
The incident is the latest to illustrate when thieves came in the form of bank or “The bottom line: hacking is busi-

Purchase
a prevalent and persistent threat in the train robbers. The types of criminals has ness,” Davidof said. “It’s not 14-year-
increasingly technological world: the changed with the times, and companies olds living in mom’s basement. These
Two Dinner Entrees
hacker economy.
should be hyper vigilant, Davidof said.
are professionals. It is sophisticated
Two weeks ago, Glacier Bank hosted An extreme example occurred last software and stealthy.”
& receive a
an informational seminar for business
winter when Target was the victim of
[email protected]

Complementary

Bottle of Wine
Municipal Matters

(chosen from select wine list)
A recap of recent city council and county commission meetings

KALISPELL
lic works departments have been permit variances, including those
meeting with managers of the for the University of Montana’s
• The new water and sewer mains Bloomstone subdivision, who are Flathead Biological Station.
planning to commence work on the
have been installed, disinfected, first phase of the subdivision this
tested and placed in service along summer that will potentially in- WHITEFISH
Three Mile Drive. Crews still need clude 25 townhouse lots and up to
to make one remaining connec- • At its regular meeting June 2, the
tion to the water system in Empire 96 apartment units in 12 buildings.
Estates and install fire hydrants. city council heard an update on a
Upon completion of these two FLATHEAD COUNTY
proposal for a conservation ease-
items, the utility portion for the ment on roughly 3,000 acres of land
owned by Stoltze Land and Lumber
Three Mile Drive phase of the U.S. • On June 5, Flathead County Com- Company in Haskill Basin.
Highway 93 bypass will be at sub- mission will award the bid for a re-
stantial completion, according to modeling project for the third floor •Maria Butts accepted an offer to
city officials.
take over as the city’s Parks and
of the Flathead City-County Health Recreation director.
•The city’s Planning Board is pre- Department. The health depart-
paring to hold two public hearings ment is located at the Earl Bennett • BNSF Railway and the city’s fire and
June 10. The hearings will consider Building. The commission will also police departments are hosting a
conditional use permits for a group sign the contract with LHC Inc. public information event to address
home to be operated by Montana for the first phase of the Flathead
County Fairgrounds infrastructure the transportation of oil through
755-4441 Academy at 1045 Third Ave. E., and project, which includes upgrading Whitefish. The gathering will take
a 78-bed assisted living facility op- place at the O’Shaughnessy Center,
139 1erated by Beehive Homes at 242 the century-old grandstands.
1 Central Ave. Whitefish on June
ST AVENUE WEST Stillwater Road.
• The commission will also consider 10, 2014 at 7 p.m. and is open to the
in Kalispell
public.
•Staff with the planning and pub-
and decide on various lakeshore