National Webcast Initiative

Are YOU The Weakest Link?
(What To Look For And What To Do)

October 19, 2004

More than 1,400 individuals from across the country and around the world registered for the third session in the National Webcast Initiative series, which took place on October 19, 2004. Are YOU the Weakest Link? featured enlightening presentations by Mr. Patrick Gray, Director of the X-Force National Emergency Response Team, ISS, Inc., and Mr. Alan Paller, Director of Research, SANS Institute. Opening remarks were provided by Mr. Lawrence Hale, Deputy Director, Outreach and Awareness, US-CERT, US Department of Homeland Security, and Mr. William Pelgrin, Chair of the MS-ISAC. The webcast was a non-technical discussion about what each of us should do on a daily basis to be more cyber secure. This session focused on the human elements of cyber security, which are just as important, if not more so, than the technical elements, and included examples of the various types of scams and pitfalls we need to watch out for, and how to protect ourselves.

View the archived October 19, 2004 webcast

A number of related webcast documents are also available:

  • October 19, 2004 3:00pm Eastern: View Powerpoint of Webcast - View Presentation
  • Questions and Answers Transcript - Download/View: HTML || PDFpdf || Worddoc
    zip
  • One way that malicious programs can get onto your computer is if you download an email attachment that contains a malicious program, and then open it. Many email viruses use double extensions, relying on users not noticing that it’s an executable. Follow the instructions in the two links below to protect yourself.
  • How to turn on your firewall - View Presentation
  • Information Security Survival Kit - PDFpdf

    This document, from the IT Governance Institute, provides information on how to protect yourself in cyberspace, including sections for specific user categories, such as home users and professional users.

(If you require a copy of an accessible version of the powerpoint presentation or a pdf document,
please contact the Office of Cyber Security and Critical Infrastructure Coordination ).