FBI Special Agent Eric Brelsford spoke Monday night in Straz Hall in front of about 150 students about the importance of cybersecurity and protecting against identity theft.

After 9/11, the FBI's priorities include protecting the U.S. from terrorist attacks, against foreign intelligence operations (or espionage), and against cyber-based attacks and high-technology crimes, Brelsford said.

Four cyber-crimes investigated by the FBI that Brelsford highlighted are computer intrusions ("hacking"), Internet fraud, theft by foreign intelligence operations and online exploitation of children, Brelsford said.

Brelsford spoke in-depth about computer intrusions and how to avoid them. He also discussed how to protect against identity theft.

To avoid problems with computer intrusions, Brelsford recommended installing anti-virus software, maintaining a firewall and using spyware removal programs.

"Identity theft is stealing any sort of personal, identified information about" someone, Brelsford said. This information includes one's name, date of birth, Social Security number, driver's license number, credit card numbers, bank account numbers or anything that uniquely identifies an individual. The thief uses this information to take out credit cards or buy houses in the victim's names, among other crimes, Brelsford said.

In order to protect against identity theft, it is important to manage personal information wisely, determine how information will be used before giving it to anyone, minimize the number of credit cards and IDs carried and store information in a secure place. It is also important to shred discarded personal records and documents, Brelsford said.

College of Business Administration senior Viraj Siriwardena, who is also president of the lecture's sponsor, the Marquette Association of Information Technology Professionals, said Monica Adya, an assistant professor of management, contacted the Milwaukee FBI and helped get the FBI to come to Marquette.

Twenty members of the Information Technology club and 130 College of Business Administration freshmen were required to attend the lecture for a class, according to Siriwardena.

Students who attended the presentation said they learned about cyber-security and its importance.

College of Business Administration freshman Michele Trecaso said she attended because she had to, but she still gained some new information.

"I learned a lot of things because I didn't know anything about computer hacking," Trecaso said. "It was very interesting to see the different types of computer hacking and how to prevent it."

Garima Chawla, who is also a College of Business Administration freshman, said, "I learned how to keep myself safe on the Internet (and) protect myself from viruses."

Chawla said there was not much she would remember from the presentation.

"It was a lot of stuff I knew already," she said. She said it was scary to learn "how someone's identity can be stolen just like that."

A Northwestern University graduate in computer sciences, Brelsford has been at the FBI as a Special Agent for three years. He is part of the FBI's field office in Milwaukee and is assigned to the Cyber Crime Task Force.

The Cyber division in the FBI was created in 2002 due to "growth in technology and growth in cyber threats that are out there," Brelsford said.

Brelsford said he underwent a 17-week training program focusing on classroom instruction, legal training, firearms training, defensive tactics and real-world scenarios to put the skills together.,”James A. Molnar”

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