What is this about?

Your user name and password make up your elecronic identity. This goes for all services you log on to; an online bank, your airline, your account at UiB, etc. If someone else gets hold of your user name and password, they may take over your identity, log on to IT systems as you - in short abuse your identity in many ways.

How does someone else get hold of my identitety?

Your user name is no secret. It is used ia when e-mail is sent to you. Your password, on the other hand, is and should always be secret. That is why it is very important that no-one except yourself know your password. This is where the news from Bergens Tidende is relevant.

Surveillance

The technique referred to in the newspaper article is as follows: Some unknown third party mounts a "key logger" between your PC (or Mac) and your keyboard. The key logger is a device that looks a bit like a memory stick, though with connectors in both ends (see picture). When you press a key on your keyboard, the key logger picks this up and transmits it via wireless network to a receiving PC.

The eavesdropper sits at the receiving PC and records everything written on your keyboard, including user names and passwords!

What should I look for?

This kind of surveillance is almost impossible to detect from the PC. The simplest and best defense is a visual control - look at your PC or Mac! The procedure is very straightforward: There should be nothing mounted between your keyboard and your PC! (See the illustration!)

If you have any doubts - contact us!

If you are in any way uncertain, we would very much like to hear from you. Rememeber that there are no "stupid" questions when it comes to IT security. If you want to know more, we will try to answer as good as we can.

Contact information for our Service Desk BRITA:

Phone
555 84700
Opening hours 08:00 – 15:45       

Web:
BS.UIB.NO
Always open