March 19, 2007

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  NEWS: Soldiers Warned of Keylogging Scam

  An Army Criminal Investigation Command press release warned United States soldiers yesterday about a keylogging scam affecting the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), a popular military savings plan. TSP is used by all branches of the Armed Services. The company alerted customers that scam artists had been hacking into the home and work computers of some TSP users and implanting keylogging software on their network, to steal TSP passwords and transfer money out of their accounts.
  
  Keylogging is a diagnostic tool that, like the name suggests, is used to capture all of the key strokes executed by a user. Some businesses use it to monitor employee computer use and productivity, and it has other legitimate and useful purposes. Falling into the hands of criminals, however, it can be a dangerous way of stealing someone's personal information – and it seems, dismayingly, that this kind of identity theft is on the rise.
  
  Military officials are recommending that all military personnel protect themselves by logging out of the TSP account information screen and closing the browser window after every time they look at their account online. This alone, however, will not be enough to stop hackers, as merely closing a browser window does not remove the computer's "memory" of it being open. TSP is advising that all military users make sure that their antivirus software is up to date. Army personnel in particular can download antivirus software for free by visiting the Joint Task Force-Global Network Operations website
  
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