C-charge computer glitch risked security of drivers’ bank details

A computer problem at the congestion charge payments centre has led to fears that drivers’ security details could have been compromised, it was claimed today.

Motorists were told to give Transport for London contractor IBM their credit or debit card number and three-digit security code when its online payments system crashed for 24 hours.

Lee Bearton, a motorist whose wife Marianne was unable to pay, told the Standard he refused to give his security code after his bank, Barclays, told him not to do so if he thought details might be held in an “unsafe” manner. He said: “Barclays said no company should ask you to do this and it was clearly not a secure method of keeping details. Our bank was telling us not to give out the information, and TfL were telling us we could not pay if we didn’t give the information.

Computer security tips keep people safe, secure online

By David C. Agan Jr., Fort Rucker Public Affairs

Taking time to learn about some basic computer security concepts can go a long way to ensure your private information remains safe and secure, and your computer continues to function properly.

“Without computer security, your computer and the network it’s attached to are vulnerable to viruses, worms and other types of malicious code,” said Thomas Brindisi, network security manager for the Fort Rucker Network Enterprise Center.

The following are some of the various threats to personal and government computers people should be aware of.

Computer viruses

Viruses are programs that can copy themselves to a computer and then spread from one computer to another over a network or the Internet. They can also be spread via removable media, such as CDs or USB drives.

There are different types of viruses. Some can be a nuisance, forcing your Internet browser to display an unending series of popup windows. Others, however, can maliciously delete your personal files, system files and even destroy your operating system. Many times, a computer will “catch” a virus via an untrusted website or by opening an email attachment.

Over the last few weeks an attacker used a collection of illicitly obtained usernames and passwords to infiltrate a number of Dropbox accounts, including one belonging to a Dropbox employee. The usernames and passwords were stolen from other, third-party websites, Dropbox officials said, finally confirming the breach, which had been rumored for several weeks.

The company’s admission follows a series of customer complaints earlier this month that email addresses they used only for Dropbox were being targeted by gambling and casino website spam. Dropbox claimed in mid-July it hadn't seen reports of unauthorized activity but that it had brought in "a team of outside experts" to help investigate the spam that was largely affecting users in Germany and the UK.