CID warns of identity theft by keylogging - Marine Corps News, news from Afghanistan - Marine Corps Times

CID warns of identity theft by keylogging

Soldiers with Thrift Savings Plan accounts could be in danger of having their personal account information stolen from their home computers, according to an Army Criminal Investigation Command press release.

TSP — a popular savings plan used by all branches of the U.S. military — recently issued an alert warning its customers to guard against becoming victims of “keylogging,” a tactic cyber-criminals are using to capture a computer user’s TSP personal identification number or other personal information such as a Social Security number, the release said.

Keylogging is a diagnostic tool used in software development that captures a user’s keystrokes, but in the wrong hands, it enables criminals to record all the typing on a keyboard without the user’s knowledge, the release said.

This is a threat to all U.S. military personnel who use the plan, CID officials said.

Personal information is increasingly available on “keylogger” lists for sale through criminal networks and so far, all of the TSP cases involve the transfer of electronic funds, since criminals normally prefer a paperless way to steal money, according to Michael Milner, the director of the CID’s Computer Crime Investigative Unit.

“Computer users should protect themselves from keyloggers and other malicious software and should promptly close the Web browser after they have checked their TSP account information,” Milner explained in the release. “Users must remember logging off a Web site does not clear a browser’s memory, and subsequent users might be able to access the TSP account information.”

Milner said he is unaware of any Army victims at this point but strongly recommends computer users review their home system’s security effectiveness to reduce exposure to these types of attacks. The best advice for computer users, he said, is to follow general computer security principles at home and to download antivirus software.

Army personnel can download free antivirus software for their home computers by visiting the Joint Task Force-Global Network Operations Web site. They must access the JTF-GNO Web site from a “.mil” or military computer system and authenticate with their government Common Access Card and PIN. After downloading the software, they can then install it on their home computers.