National Association Names Johnson Vice Chair of Cyber Committee & Adopts Johnson’s Public Lands Sponsored Resolutions

Long Beach, CA. – The National Association of Counties (NACo) held their Annual Conference this month in Long Beach, California.  During the conference, NACo members adopted a new American County Platform, passed resolutions, and announced their 2016/2017 Leadership and Steering Committee Appointments.  Supervisor Buster Johnson was named as one of the Vice-Chairs of NACO’s Information Technology Standing Committee, and also had two resolutions adopted as part of NACo’s national American County Platform along with one resolution on Uranium Mining being accepted.  According to NACo, their County Platform is their permanent policy documents whereas resolutions must be written and adopted every year. NACo’s IT Standing Committee, originally called NACo’s Cyber Security Task Force, was launched in 2012 as a public/private partnership to protect county government networks and residents from online computer crime.  “With today’s advancing technology, it is important that county officials understand the importance of cyber security,” Supervisor Johnson stated.  “Counties are a crucial resource when it comes to public information and information sharing which makes it so important for counties to ensure the taxpayer’s information is secure and safe,” Johnson continued. Supervisor Johnson is also a member of NACo’s Public Lands Steering Committee and sponsored two resolutions dealing with Public Lands.  The first resolution he sponsored was in support of the Historic Routes Preservation Act, which is a bipartisan bill that would provide an administrative means for the federal government to confirm rights-of-way on public lands administered by the Departments of Interior and Agriculture. NACo’s National County Platform has always taken a stance on supporting the maintenance and enhancement of public access to public lands.  Instead of adopting the resolution, NACo included the language for the resolution in their overall County Platform.  “This is a major accomplishment,” Johnson stated.  “Not all resolutions end up apart of the overall County platform.  By adding into the platform, it shows that the overall voice of counties throughout the nation support preserving our historical right of ways,” Johnson continued. Another resolutions sponsored by Supervisor Johnson, which passed unanimously during the Conference, was in support of uranium activities.  In 2012, the Secretary of Interior, withdrew one million acres of the nation’s highest grade uranium ores from mineral entry in Northern Arizona.  According to a report by the American Clean Energy Resource Trust, this was a $29 billion hit to local economies in Mohave County and in Southern Utah.  “This ban took away much needed jobs from our area.  Uranium mining would have brought in nearly 1,078 new jobs to the Arizona strip area with a $40 million annual payroll,” Johnson explained. Included in the NACo platform was also language requiring full coordination with locally affected interests when it came to national monument designations and full funding for the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program.  “Without full funding for PILT, Arizona counties will be forced to shift federal responsibilities to local tax payers or drastically cut essential services such as education, law enforcement, and road maintenance,” Johnson stated.  During FY15, Mohave County received roughly … Continue Reading →

Cyber Security Tips for NCSAM

  Cyber Security Tip of the Day For National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM):  Protect online accounts with a different password for each.  Passwords need at least eight characters, letters, numbers and symbols.  Avoid using any part of your name, phone number or birth date. Be careful with email auto-complete. This is an email feature that automatically completes a name for you when you begin typing it in the TO field. However, your email client can easily complete the wrong name for you. If you are emailing anything sensitive, always be sure to check the TO field a second time before hitting the send button. Make sure you have anti-virus software installed on your computer and that it is automatically updating. However, keep in mind that no anti-virus can catch all malware; your computer can still be infected. That is why it’s so important you use common sense and be wary of any messages that seem odd or suspicious. Rogue software or “scareware” is fake antivirus or security software. Bad guys usually try to get you to install it by generating a pop-up window as you surf the web. The “updates” or “alerts” in the pop-up windows call for you to take some sort of action, such as clicking to install the software, accept recommended updates, or remove unwanted viruses or spyware. When you click, the rogue security software downloads to your computer. It takes only a few seconds to secure your computer and to help protect it from unauthorized access. Lock down your computer every time you leave your desk. If you’re using a windows computer, press Ctrl–Alt—Delete before you walk away! On a Mac? Try Control–Shift– Power Banking Trojans can use a malicious webpage to ask you for your cell phone number and then attempt to install a malicious app that can bypasses security systems. Your bank will not distribute apps in this way. It is always recommended that folks download apps from the official app store and never through unknown text messages or websites. Before submitting your credit card number when shopping online, always look for the “lock” icon on the browser’s status bar to be sure your information is secure during transmissions and make sure “https” appears in the website’s address bar. The “s” stands for “secure” indicating that communications are encrypted. USB drives, Flash Memory Cards, CD-ROMs, and other external devices can be infected with viruses and malware. Always make sure to scan them using virus scan software before opening files on them, especially if those files were not put on the device by yourself. Email is the gateway to almost every other account a user may have. When someone loses or forgets an account password, the reset is sent to his or her email.  Cyber security experts suggests email users set up multi-factor authentication, which means more than just a password is required for access; a code may be sent via text message that a user must also input for access,​ for example. It’s something … Continue Reading →

Cyber Security Tip #31

Cyber Security Tip #31 October is not only National Cyber Security Awareness Month; it’s also the time to celebrate Halloween, bringing to mind scary things that are merely figments of our imagination. In the digital world, however, there are many scary things that are not figments of our imagination that we should in fact be worried about. Here are some examples: • In the cyber world we have Gh0st, an infamous piece of malware that is commonly used by threat actors to remotely access a target and assume complete control. • Unlike the make-believe zombies you see in the movies, cyber zombies are real. In the online world, a zombie is a machine compromised with malware and controlled by a hacker. Zombies can send spam, launch denial-of-service attacks and infect other machines. • The Frankenstein malware takes small pieces of software from trusted programs and stitches them together, making the resulting malware undetectable. ‪#‎NCSAM‬

Cyber Security Tip #30

Cyber Security Tip #30: How to Avoid Work From Home Scams The ad says you can make lots of money working from the comfort of your home. But if this were true, wouldn’t we all be working at home? According to a report done by CBS, for every one legitimate work-at-home job posted online, there are about 70 scams. If you’ve spent any time trawling online jobs boards and classifieds looking for remote work from home opportunities then this statistic might not come as a surprise. To help you avoid being one of the many people that falls prey to their tricks, here are my top 8 tips for avoiding work from home scams: • Don’t pay money upfront – Any work from home opportunity that asks for money upfront could well be a scam, whether the money is for registration, training, supplies or processing fees. No ethical employer would expect you to pay them before they pay you. • Speak with someone – A legit employer of remote workers will happily discuss the work from home opportunity with you over the phone. Scammers won’t. • Conduct background checks – Google the company’s name with the word ‘scam’ next to it to see whether anybody that’s been tricked into a non-legit work from home job has an axe to grind. • Check references – If your search on Google doesn’t reveal anything but you’re still suspicious, ask to speak to another internet employee of the company. • Find out exactly what you’ll be paid – Beware of high hourly rates with minimal skills or experience required. There’s no shortage of work from home opportunities promising you’ll earn $100s for a few hours of work. Rather than trust these vague figures, ask them to explain exactly how much you will be paid and how your pay is calculated. • Jobs to avoid – Work from home jobs to avoid or be suspicious of are assembly jobs, data entry (when you have to pay for a starter kit), processing claims or emails and, of course, stuffing envelopes (businesses have postage machines these days!). ‪#‎NCSAM‬

Cyber Security Tip #28

Cyber Security Tip #28: Protect Your Identity From Cyber Thieves 1. Don’t carry your Social Security card in your wallet. If your health plan (other than Medicare) or another card uses your Social Security number, ask the company for a different number. 2. Identity thieves love passwords because they open doors to our personal information. Get tough and organized now. Use different passwords for all your accounts. Make those passwords strong with at least eight characters, including a mix of letters, numbers, and symbols ($+r0^gh@h@). 3. Stop most pre-approved credit card offers. They make a tempting target for identity thieves who steal your mail. Have your name removed from credit bureau marketing lists. Call toll-free 1-888-5OPTOUT (888-567-8688). Or opt out online at www.optoutprescreen.com. 4. Open your credit card bills and bank statements right away. Check carefully for any unauthorized charges or withdrawals and report them immediately. 5. When shopping online, check out a Web site before entering your credit card number or other personal information. Read the privacy policy and look for opportunities to opt out of information sharing. Only enter personal information on secure Web pages with “https” in the address bar and a padlock symbol at the bottom of the browser window. ‪#‎NCSAM‬

Cyber Security Tip #23

Hackers are taking advantage of people’s fears regarding the latest Ebola outbreak. If you get an email from a seemingly trustworthy organization about the Ebola virus in the coming days, beware. It could very well be a scam to obtain your personal info. The emails look like they’re from organizations like the World Health Organization. But when you click on its attachments, they install a DarkComet Remote Access Trojan (RAT) onto your computer, giving hackers access to your computer and the files on it. Be sure to avoid emails with subject lines similar to the following: • RE: Ebola Survival Guide • What you need to know about the deadly Ebola outbreak • So Really, How Do You Get Ebola? • Ebola virus outbreak: Curing Breakthrough Revealed? • SHOCKING Health Alert: Secret Cure for Ebola? • HEALTH NEWS: Secret Cure for Ebola? • Is there ANY way to cure Ebola? ‪#‎NCSAM‬

Cyber Security Tip #22

Cyber Security Tip #22: Treat your personal information like cash Your Social Security number, credit card numbers, and bank account numbers can be used to steal your money or open new accounts in your name. So every time you are asked for your personal information — whether in a web form, an email, a text, or a phone message — think about whether you can really trust the request. Always ensure that the website requesting the information is encrypted. Some websites use encryption only on the sign-in page, but if any part of your session isn’t encrypted, the entire account could be vulnerable. Look for https on every page of the site you’re on, not just where you sign in. ‪#‎NCSAM‬

Cyber Security Tip #21

Cyber Security Tip #21: Surf Safe on the Internet It’s important to verify the sites you visit on the Internet. A certain amount of information (such as your IP address and domain name) is automatically sent when you connect. Web sites can also track the pages you visit, determine the version of your browser and operating system, and even compromise files and passwords. Below are a few helpful tips on how to keep safe on the Internet: • Keep your operating system updated and patched. • Use anti-virus and anti-spyware software and keep them updated. • Do not visit un-trusted websites or follow links provided by unknown or un-trusted sources. • Keep your applications (programs) updated and patched, particularly if they work with your browser such as multi-media programs used for viewing videos. • Block pop-up windows, some of which may be malicious and hide attacks. This may block malicious software from being downloaded to your computer. ‪#‎NCSAM‬

Cyber Security Tip #20

Stranger Danger Parents are constantly reminded about teaching their kids to protect themselves against online strangers, but these individuals can pose just as great a threat to adults. When interacting with people online in any environment, you should exercise extreme caution. Especially if someone begins asking for personal information or attempts a sales pitch. Online harassment and abuse can also be a serious problem for both kids and adults. If someone you talk to online is becomes abusive or harasses you, immediately drop contact before things escalate. Be careful whom you befriend online — not everyone is friendly or forthcoming on the Internet. ‪#‎NCSAM‬

Cyber Security Tip #19

Using Gift Cards this Holiday Season With so many breaches occurring at retail stores nation wide, it is no wonder shoppers are iffy on using their credit and debit cards this Holiday season. To avoid being a victim of a breach, cyber security experts recommend you going to your financial institute and obtain a registered gift card to do your online shopping. It won’t be tied to any of your bank accounts and may even help with your Holiday budgeting. ‪#‎NCSAM‬