In this episode of Discover Lafayette, Jan Swift meets with the Cyber Security Team at RADER: Chief Security Officer Tim Fournet, Sarah Bryson, Head of Security Operations Team, and Tyler Robertson, Cyber Security Analyst, who discuss the importance of planning ahead to avoid hacks that can bring down a business.

Since 2002, RADER has helped clients focus on their business while their team takes care of the technology and keeping data secure.

The "World Wide Web," or the internet as we call it today, was invented in 1989 by Sir Tim Berners-Lee as a convenient way to share data on open platforms in a non-discriminatory way; it was not set up to secure the data, and in those days, people freely shared their Social Security Numbers and other personal data without fear of being robbed blind or having their business systems stolen and held up in exchange for a ransom.

It's a different day in 2019. Savvy criminals now run organized businesses on the dark web where they buy and sell everything that's available to be exploited. Using untraceable cryptocurrencies, unsavory characters can purchase your email password for a couple of bucks or spend time on other people's computers (for $10 to 15 bucks). Personal identities are harvested by criminal actors and sold for profit. Government computer systems are shut down by ransomware; department stores such as Target report that millions of users' debit card accounts have been compromised.

Tim Fournet has been with RADER for fourteen years and has witnessed the evolution of computer problems people experience. The early days involved buying, maintaining and fixing hardware for small businesses; today, RADER typically manages entire computer and telephone systems to prevent problems for businesses ranging in size from 10 to 1000 employees. As technology has advanced quickly over the past decade, Tim has seen the benefits of utilizing cloud computing become countered with the risks of bad guys having access to all of your data.

With the increase of criminal activity over the internet, most of which is untraceable, RADER is now focused on teaching their clients to understand the risks that are out there and how to better protect themselves with security measures.

Two of the most common phishing scams: financial transaction scams and stealing people's credentials. 94% of malware is delivered through email.

The importance of educating all employees on how to prevents cyber hacks can not be overstated. No matter how sophisticated a computer system nor how many security measures have been implemented, the end-user is where the system is most vulnerable. One click of a link that shouldn't have been clicked can transfer funds that will never be retrieved, leak trade secrets and intellectual property, release personal information on your clients, and cause other untold damage that can permanently ruin a business.

"Spear Phishing" or "Whaling" is a phishing attack that targets a specific high profile employee with the intent to steal information or cause a transfer of large sums of money. More nefarious than a generalized attack on a system, the "big phish" victim is targeted online by the criminal actor who requests specific information or wire transfer of money from what seems like a trusted source using personal information about the target.

RADER recommends that multi-factor identification be used to help protect your personal accounts. Using something other than just a user name and password to confirm your identity, such as receiving a text on a separate device from the one you're using to access your online account is desirable. Use different passwords for different accounts. Once you're hacked,