BUTLER TWP — The FBI considers cybercrime its No. 1 criminal priority, and third overall priority only behind counterterrorism and counterintelligence.

That was the assessment of Special Agent Keith Mularski of the FBI at the Technology Symposium Tuesday at Butler County Community College.

He was one of five experts in different areas of cyber security to explain ways to avoid cyber threats to an audience of business representatives and individuals.

Mularski, now the cyber security supervisor at the FBI's field office in Pittsburgh, has spent time undercover infiltrating cyber crime rings and explained that while these criminals don't actually meet in person, they are organized in a way that results in big business.

“These computer criminal networks will rival any corporation that's out there,” he said.

He said they use malware, rogue antivirus software, Automated Clearing House fraud and many other methods to obtain information they then sell on the black market.

They also are adapting to changing technology.

“From our perspective at the FBI in the next five years, the mobile platform is our most vulnerable emerging threat,” he said.

However, he was encouraging about the overall safety of personal banking and shopping online.

“You are actually safer to do your banking online than you are to walk into the brick and mortar (office),” he said.

Bill Valentine, BNY Mellon's senior investigator, warned about identity theft, a crime that impacts millions each year and is on the rise.

He said nearly half of all such cases can be traced to stolen wallets and documents, but thieves also search people's trash, steal mail, and steal electronic devices or copy the data on them.

Another common scam is referred to as “phishing,” which uses phony e-mails in hopes of fooling people into divulging their personal information. Similar scams that use other forms of communications are vishing (voice systems) and SMSishing (text message).

“Skimming” is another method criminals use to gather credit and debit card information, Valentine said. One form involves the modification of card readers on ATMs to steal bank data.

Valentine said ATM users should pull on the card reader to see if it's loose. If it is, it most likely has been altered, he said. Another method involves using a hand-held scanning device that criminals, especially those posing in the hospitality industry, use to swipe card data.

As a project manager for peer-to-peer security firm Tiversa, Andy Tormasi also works to track cyber criminals and generate leads for law enforcement.

Peer-to-peer, or P2P, networks allow computer users to download files from other users. Downloading music and movies is the most common use for P2P networks. However, Tormasi said much more is accessible on P2P networks, which leads to serious security concerns.

“Cyber criminals know what they're doing,” Tormasi said. “This is low-hanging fruit. This is a massive amount of information they have to check for.”

Cynthia Closkey, president of Big Big Design, a marketing and Web design firm in Butler, spoke about social media websites — those such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Linked In and Flickr — and how they can present security issues.

“There are risks involved any time you go online and share information about yourself,” she said, explaining social sites can damage reputations and bank accounts.

“The Internet and social media are not scary things,” she added. “They're fun. ... The sad thing is we have to be so careful.”

She said passwords should be at least six random characters with numbers. Or, better yet, she advised using mixed cases with symbols and numbers. Also, she said typing phrases with spaces also is very effective.

The symposium was presented by the Tri-County Technology Consortium in partnership with the Butler County Chamber of Commerce, BC3 and Butler County Business Matters.