Chamber of Commerce learns about cyber security practices at meeting

The Ville Platte Chamber of Commerce heard about cyber security at its September meeting as the guest speaker was Bryan Miller from Premier Data Systems.
Miller defined cyber security as “a body of technology processes and practices designed to protect networks, computers, programs, and data from attack, damage, or unauthorized access.”
According to Miller, the biggest threat to cyber security today is Ransomware. “It is where somebody drops a bad piece of malware on your computer, and they encrypt your files and hold them for ransom,” he said. “You then pay them with bitcoins that are like an underground market of trading money and things of that nature. It’s untraceable, and it’s all done through the dark Web.
Miller went through his disaster recovery plan. He said that the biggest thing is “you don’t want to pay the ransom to get your files back.” He added, “The FBI advises against doing that because all you are doing is paying them and aiding and abetting them to keep going.”
The following cyber security tips were also shared with the chamber: never think it can’t happen to you, practice good password behavior, back up data regularly, never leave devices unattended, always use caution when clicking on attachments or links in e-mails, only use your own device on a network you trust to do sensitive browsing, be cautious of what you plug into your computer, beware of what you post on social media, beware of social engineering, and monitor accounts for suspicious activity.
Suzy Lemoine from the Evangeline Parish Library was on hand at the meeting to talk about this year’s Book Fest, which is set for Saturday, October 7 from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
“We’re ready to bring a fun day since it’s squirrel season,” Lemoine said. “We want to focus on the women and are hoping that the women who will stay in town to shop will come by. We have 27 vendors, and of that number 12 are authors.”
She added, “We will have Lynette Edwards, Chris Fontenot, Steve Hallum, Mel LeCompte who wrote the Tee Cotton Bowl story, Karen Yochim who is from Arnaudville, Dianne Dempsey who wrote a book about a Louisiana soldier, Kyle Vidrine who is a guy from Ville Platte and now a big motivational speaker, Nikkita Pierrottie who lives on Highland Boulevard, Jo Anne Guillory Crumbling, Johanna Guillory who is from Mamou and wrote the Fred’s book, and Grace Sibley.”
Executive director of the chamber and Evangeline Parish Tourism Camille Fontenot briefed the meeting on this year’s Cotton Festival that is set for October 10-15. “Every night there will be something,” she said. “The parade will begin at noon on the 15th, and our lieutenant governor is the king of the festival. The Tournoi will be after the parade, and it begins a little earlier at 2:00 p.m.