NIU and other universities could possibly be targets for terrorists networking against the White House and other governmental facilities, said Jason Richardson, network security and equipment manager, and James Fatz, director enterprise systems support of Internet and telecommunications services.

Both Richardson and Fatz feel this is an issue of great importance.

“We don’t want to be a part of the problem already facing America,” Richardson said.

Terrorists and hackers probe networks remotely and find vulnerable systems in which to place a Trojan virus, which isolates the computer until the hacker wants to use it. Once the hackers get enough computers isolated, they launch a huge strike against different government agencies, which in turn crashes their systems.

This would be very detrimental to American government agencies.

“Students shouldn’t fear that any of their private information is being exploited,” Richardson said. “We are placing many safeguards on our system currently.”

David Ausin, a freshman computer science major, believes that NIU should take every precaution in safeguarding its computers.

“Computer hackers can cause more damage than most people think,” Austin said.

There are a few things Richardson suggests students do to ensure that nothing happens to their computer.

1. Install virus scanning.

2. Use a strong password, at least six characters, upper and lower case.

3. Use Internet firewall of Internet security software. Richardson suggested www.zonealarm.com as a good source for security software.

4. Do not share account names or passwords with anyone else.

Also, there are a few viruses out there that come via your e-mail that should be looked for. Some of these are Hybris (otherwise known as “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves”), Nimda and Sirkam are a few to look out for.

“If you see any of these e-mail names on your computer, do not open them,” Richardson added. “Delete them immediately.”

Both Richardson and Fatz want all students to help put a stop to these hackers. They ask students to report someone performing suspicious activities on a campus computer.

“We want to protect not only the interests of the students, but ultimately the interest of America,” Richardson said. “America has already seen a horrific tragedy, and we are doing all we can to prevent another.”