The Washington Post’s recent series “Net of Insecurity” brings up the apparent, almost unavoidable reality of security risks on the Internet. While hackers, viruses, and scams are a near-inevitable byproduct of an open Internet, there are things your ISP is doing to prevent some of the most dangerous cyber attacks. Take a botnet for example.
A botnet is a collection of Internet connected devices communicating with each other in order to perform tasks in concert. As a group, these devices are capable of causing serious havoc if they’re all simultaneously instructed to attack a single target like a bank or government office. A criminal can take control of thousands of computers – even your computer – and create a botnet. But your ISP is there to help you keep your computer safe. If they detect you or something on your home network is communicating with a compromised server or with a known botnet, they can alert you.
Go to the FCC’s page on how to protect yourself online to learn more about what you can do to support a safe, secure online experience.
