Protect Yourself: Don't Forget To Logoff!!!

A James Bondish Keyboard

When you sit down at your computer (it really does not matter if it is laptop, a netbook, or even a desktop) what is the first thing you notice, and what is the one thing you take most for granted?  Well, to answer these questions, you probably notice your screen first with the pretty backdrop, and it is the keyboard which often gets overlooked.  I guess its just human nature.  For instance, if our computer is not working properly after we login, we always first reach for the CPU and the monitor.  But do we ever stop and think something could be wrong with the keyboard, or perhaps the USB connection became loose and disconnected?  Here is another little trick when I first got into IT in my MBA days:  if your password never gets accepted, try typing it out on the keyboard in a text editor and take notice of the characters you are typing out (by this, I mean letters, punctuation, numbers, etc.). 

If something seems out of synch, but you swear your keystrokes are right, very likely there is some junk on the keyboard which is prohibiting from everything to be properly typed.  In fact, a dirty or a dusty keyboard can cause just as much harm to your computer as much as a small piece of hair within your CPU.  And to just state how important the keyboard is, it is here in today’s advanced world, where one can use their fingerprint to login into their computer, as a replacement to the password (or in conjunction with it). 

But, the keyboard is going to get much more advanced:  “KSI (Key Source International) announced today its most amazing new line of security desktop keyboards . . . the KSI-1700 series features an array of secure input options never before available in one simple keyboard design. This slim, elegant and ergonomic keyboard addresses all aspects of workstation security . . . the KSI-1700 has integrated options, such as biometrics, WaveID, HID and contact-less smart card badge technologies. What truly makes the KSI-1700 series so incredible is SonarLocID, this option locks and secures a users workstation by simply walking away . . . “The password era is coming to end. A secure and irrefutable logon using biometrics or RFID will become the norm when we access data.”  (SOURCE:  http://www.findbiometrics.com/industry-news/i/9384/). 

My Take

Man, now talk about powerful and mulitfaceted keyboards!!!  Heck, I remember back in the days of the TRS-80 and the IBM 486’s how simple and durable the keyboards were.  The only thing complex about them was simply trying to figure out where to put that darned PS/2 serial connection in the back of the CPU, and making sure it was snug and fit.  And now, we see keyboards with multitrack “things” replacing the traditional mouse, touch “tronic” types of buttons, Biometrics (this was just introduced in laptops and netbooks on a large scale just a couple of years ago), and now Smart Cards and computers that automatically shut you down or log you off when you walk away for a certain period of time?!?!?!  WOW.  Totally incredible. 

Just as much as the Smartphone has advanced in technology, as well as those flat screens and the CPU’s we will probably see keyboards advance just as much.  But, they will not get much notice until they come out in the press like this one.  In my humble opinion, I am sort of divided into all of this fancy stuff.  True, we live in a world where Identity Theft is omni present, and security threats and risks have become extremely advanced compared to when I first started out in IT.  So, in a way we need all of this technology in order to fight all this stuff.  But on the flip side of the coin, has this stuff become perhaps maybe a little too advanced, where if something went wrong with it, we would have to replace the whole thing?  Take this for example, and it has happened to me.  What if you spill coffee on your keyboard  . . . with everything as interconnected as it is now, would we have to just replace the whole darned computer?  This could put us at a greater expense, especially if we do not get the warranty plan at the time of purchase. 

This actually happened to me once, and all I had to do was just replace the keyboard.  This all brings up something I have talked about before:  We need a balance between the technology and human vigilance.  And, this mantra of mine just does not apply to security applications like Time and Attendance and Physical Access Entry, it applies even to this keyboard example.  Really, why do we need to have so much technology (of course, there is the need for Biometrics, this is my shameless plug) on a keyboard???  Why can’t we remember, especially at the workplace, that as we get up and leave for a little while, to merely just log off???  Why does the computer have to do that for us???  As the quote points out here:  “Leaving an open and unattended computer defeats the purpose of strong authentication, log off is as critical as the logon . . .” (SOURCE:  http://www.findbiometrics.com/industry-news/i/9384/). 

This is a very valid point, and something I have never really thought of up before.  But, why can’t simply just remember to log off??? It’s as easy as 1-2-3 (in IT parlance, it is Control-Alt-Delete, all held at the same time).

Comments

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