September 28, 2017: Lisa Breault, “Classification”, Gord Sherwin will introduce and John Wright will thank our speaker.
Head Table: Our President Linda Bathe, invites, Gord Sherwin, Jim Hayes, Ollie Henry, Karel Hodgert, Jo-Anne Hood Tidman and John Hood Tidman, to join her at the head table.
This Week: Part II: Club Runner and Cybersecurity
Program Speaker and Rotarian Dan Kane finishing Part 2 of talk on cybersecurity
Charlene Gordon started today’s meeting by outlining the process for creating a volunteer list on Club Runner.
Briefly:
- Click on “Club Runner” in the left-side box on the Rotary Club of Stratford webpage
- Click on “Member Area” at the top right of the Club Runner page
- Click on “Volunteers” in the line of tabs near the top of the page, then on “View Signup Lists” in the tabs that appear in the line below. (Note: you must have an access code of 50 or lower to do this.)
- Click on “Create New Signup List” and fill in the requested information. At this step, there is a video that will walk you through the process, step by step.
Charlene also reminded members to go into “My Club Runner” to review and update their profiles, including posting a more recent photo, if appropriate.
Dan Kane used today’s session to explain a few concepts, provide insight into recent security breaches, and respond to questions about cybersecurity.
Bitcoin: is a global cryptocurrency (encrypted digital currency) and digital payment system. Currently, 1 bitcoin is valued at $4,804.81. A private key allows access to each user’s account. On-line vendors may accept bitcoin for merchandise or services or it can be exchanged for other currencies directly with other users. There is no governing body, no country or bank controls bitcoin. Currently, there is an ATM in each of Vancouver and Toronto that sells bitcoin.
Phishing Fraud: Last month, Alberta MacEwan University in Edmonton lost $11.8 million after failing to verify the legitimacy of an email requesting payment from one of its contractors. Payments of $1.9 million, $22,000 and $9.9 million were made before the legitimate construction company called to ask why it hadn’t been paid. The email to the University’s head of finance had authentic looking logos and simply requested a change in the vendor’s banking information, that then directed the funds to off-shore accounts. Dan warned us not be fooled by emails or phone calls that ask for banking information even if they look or sound legit, or seem to know some of your personal information.
Security Breach: A recent security breach at Equifax, a credit management company, resulted in exposure of personal data for millions of Americans and about 100,000 Canadians. This included names, addresses, SIN and credit information. The breech occurred in mid-May, was discovered at the end of July, but not disclosed publically for another month (after 3 executives cashed in millions in shares). A fix that would have prevented the breech was available three months prior to the hack, but had not yet been installed. Ironically, Canadians most at risk are the 10,000 that purchased identity theft protection from CAA, which had farmed the service to Equifax. People can determine if their information was compromised by enrolling on the Equifax website; however, this requires revealing personal data. Also, fake Equifax websites, “honey pots,” have popped up to try to get personal information from concerned users. Dan’s advice at this point is to monitor your banking transactions for unusual activity (as you already do, of course!).
Remote Computer Control: Earlier this month, CCleaner, a Windows utility used to clear temporary files from computers, was hacked, giving remote access to about two million computers and servers. Tech companies – CISCO, Sony, Samsung, Akamai and other “big phish” were the main targets. Apparently, the hack was discovered and disarmed before harm was done. Again, Dan warned not to give remote access to your computer to anyone who contacts you, unsolicited. When you initiate access with a legitimate supplier for repair of a problem, that is typically one-off and expires shortly after the work terminates.
Storage and the Cloud: It is recommended that all files be backed-up three ways – locally, on a local network, external hard-drive or USB stick – offsite (at another physical location), using similar devices – and in the “cloud”. The cloud is a cluster of external servers hosted by a provider (Google, Apple etc.) that stores your content. Your data is password protected and encrypted when sent to or retrieved from the cloud. Theoretically, you can access data stored in the cloud from anywhere using the internet.
Payment services: Pay Pal is very secure but prone to phishing. Never respond to an email request to update your Pay Pal information, even if it looks authentic. Dan recommends doing on-line money transfers through your bank. Access your bank website directly, rather than using a Google search. Take the time to type in your bank password, don’t remember it on your device. Likewise, type in your credit card number each time when making on-line purchases, don’t store it on the merchant’s site.
HTTPS: Look for this prefix (versus HTTP:) on the internet address of sites where you give banking or credit card information. “S” = secure, meaning data are encrypted.
Scribe: Pat Shewen
Elizabeth Gaffney and daughter Sara announcing at Dragon Boat
Our own dragon boat team “Liquid Adrenalin”
Bryan Lapier giving update on 5 Syrian Families that came to Stratford and Rotary’s contribution of $12,000 towards that very successful program.
Guests: Today we welcomed, Marlin Mann (Sutton Bay RC), Andy Kuperus (Port Elgin RC), Jenna and Cassie - Interact Club, St Mikes, Stratford.
Draw: The draw prize today was donated by an anonymous Rotarian and won by Pat Repshaw.
Make-ups: No report
September’s Attendance Committee: John Fisher (I/C), Norm Briscoe, Ian Fisher, John Hood Tidman, Ken Nesbitt, Steve Rae, Berny Nymeyer, Gordon Sherwin, Ian Maclean, Harry Brightwell
October’s Attendance Committee: Rob Ritz (I/C), Carolyn Blackburn, Peter Roach, Carolyn Champagne, George Schroeder, Doug Thompson, Angus MacDermid, Gary Wreford, Lynn McKone
