By Carl Surran
DFAS Warns Customers To Protect Personal Data
Summer 2007
Recent computer hackings of servicemembers’ home computers that led to the redirection of funds from their military pay accounts has prompted the Defense Finance and Accounting Service to remind customers to protect their personal information from identity theft and scams.
DFAS recommends several steps for using its myPay website (https://mypay.dfas.mil) or engaging in any electronic commerce activity:
- Install operating system and application software (e.g. Internet Explorer) updates regularly.
- Install and use anti-virus software and personal firewalls, and keep them updated.
- Do not store your various user IDs and passwords in files on your computer.
- After using your browser to access a site where you process sensitive information (myPay, your bank account, etc.), close all your browser windows and restart a new browser session.
- Be very careful when installing software that gives others access to your computer.
- Do not send personal or financial information through e-mail. If you initiate a transaction and want to provide such information through a website, look for indicators that the site is secure – an image of a lock or lock icon on the browser’s status bar or a website address that begins “https:” (the “s” stands for “secure).
DFAS has just announced the implementation of a “virtual keyboard” to assist in protecting against malicious software such as spyware, trojans and keylogging. Beginning in mid-May, when a user logs on to myPay, the virtual keyboard will appear on the screen. The user will type in their login ID, then the user will mouse click his or her PIN on the keyboard pictured. To enhance security, the keyboard layout changes or keys are displayed randomly every time the page is refreshed.
“Maintaining the safety and security of myPay is a top priority,” says DFAS Operations Director Pat Shine. “It is also important that customers do everything they can to protect data from being compromised, especially when using personal computers at home.”
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