Highway Robbery

This story appears in the January 1996 issue of Entrepreneur. Subscribe »

As the number of individuals and companies traveling on the information superhighway increases, so do the incidents of computer-related crimes. Is your system at risk?

Only if your computer is set up with a two-way connection to the Internet, says Ted Beck, MIS manager for DeVilbiss Air Power Co., a manufacturing company in Jackson, Tennessee. "If you just log on to the Internet through a service provider, it's like walking into a shop, looking around and walking out. No one else on the 'Net can get into your system" Beck Explains.

However a computer system with a two-way Internet connection should be independent of the system that contains confidential information. If that's not possible, Beck advise, install "fire wall" software that crates a barricade which outsiders can't cross.

When programming your fire wall, Beck adds, make sure at least two people know the configuration. This prevents an employee from setting up a break in the wall that he or she may use later.

Contact Source

Devilbiss Air Power Co., 213 Industrial Dr., Jackson, TN 38301, (901) 423-7009;