Hospice of Washington County host cyber security, personal safety event | Washington News
Hospice of Washington County host cyber security, personal safety event | Washington News
Publish Date: 2026-06-01 14:50:00
Source Domain: www.southeastiowaunion.com
Using an unordered list, summarize the following article with between 4 and 8 key points.
WASHINGTON — With speakers from Impressions Computers and the Washington Police Department, a free public cyber security and personal safety awareness seminar was held at Hospice of Washington County on Friday, May 29.
The Hospice of Washington County held a free cyber security and personal safety and awareness event on May 29, 2026.
Giovanni Coronel/The Union
Lieutenant Benjamin Altenhofen highlighted the importance of situational awareness in dangerous situations. Whether it is a school or work setting, it is important to plan by identifying exits, potential threats, or objects to be used to defend oneself. “Failing to plan is planning to fail, and how you train is how you will respond,” said Lt. Altenhofen. “Be vigilant, pay attention to things that look out of place, intervene early, notify, communicate, document these things.”The principle of either to run, hide, or fight was also brought up. Developing a survival mindset where you run away from immediate danger, hide by barricading, or fight back when cornered by using whatever is available to neutralize the threat.
Lieutenant Benjamin Altenhofen spoke about personal safety and awareness at Hospice of Washington on May 29, 2026.
Giovanni Coronel/The Union
“Not to scare students or scare employees, but to say, ‘Hey, this is what we need to do if something like this happens,’” said Lt. Altenhofen.Being the lookout for suspicious behavior is another action to consider. Whether it be suspicious bags or people, identifying suspicious activity and reporting it can prevent threats from happening at all. “Our brain does the OODA loop movement, where it takes us a second to process information. Observe, Orient, Determine, and Act every time we go to do something,” said Lt. Altenhofen. “That process of observing something, orienting where they are in the room, determining whether that’s a threat or that’s something that I’m paying attention to, and then acting on that.”Cyber Security Karolyn Skubal of Impressions Computers, a local IT consulting and computer service company, led the discussion on cyber security. “I have a small computer corporation here in town. We started in 1987,” said Skubal. “I’ve been working with computers for over 40 years. With Impressions, 32 [years]. Our company has evolved over the years because computers have evolved over the years.”
Karolyn Skubal of Impressions Computers spoke about cyber security at Hospice of Washington County on May 29, 2026.
Giovanni Coronel/The Union
Cybercrime can be aimed at anybody, no matter their status. No one is “too small” to be a target. The more aware and cautious you are online can go a long way in making sure nobody gains access to your information. “Used to be the big companies were the target, 1780342805 anybody’s a target. One in three people will have a scam directed at them,” said Skubal. “They’re looking for easy targets. People are vulnerable, it doesn’t matter what age you are, it doesn’t matter what education you have, anybody can be convinced.” Emails are commonly used for scams as 94% of malicious malware arrives via email. The four biggest cyberattack threats are phishing, ransomware, stolen passwords, and social engineering. It’s recommended to use a complex password that has a mix of upper/lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. Two-factor authentication was also highly suggested as it stops 99% of automated attacks. “It takes less than seven minutes to crack an eight-digit password, especially if it’s simple,” said Skubal. “We recommend 16 to 20 characters for passwords. Those are not hackable. It would take years for somebody to break through.”Some habits to keep you safe online are thinking before you click, keeping software updated, backing up your data, using a password book/manager and reporting anything suspicious. “It’s not a question if you’re going to be targeted, it’s when are you going to be targeted,” said Skubal. “None of us are immune, but just being prepared will make a huge difference.”
