ICC Help: security

Question: What is ICC's position on internet security?

ICC is committed to keeping confidential data secure through upgrades to ICC's servers and to our client programs. We are actively engaged in improving our current security mechanisms, while at the same time, devoting substantial resources to catching cheaters.

All data communicated between the ICC and Timestamp-enabled clients such as BlitzIn is encrypted. However, no computer system can be guaranteed as completely safe from dedicated hackers and the ICC is no exception. ICC is aware of theoretical vulnerabilities mentioned in some reports on the internet. We are taking steps to address these issues.

Question: Is my credit card secure at ICC?

ICC has upgraded the way we process online payments. You can check out our new secure web payment forms at https://www.chessclub.com/store/members/payment.php

When you access the web form, your browser shows a "locked padlock" icon that indicates your communication with ICC are encrypted and secure. ICC takes great care in protecting financial information. See help privacy for more information. In almost ten years of service, no member has ever lost a penny of their money because of poor security at ICC.

Question: Is the money I paid to ICC secure?

ICC is confident that our members' money is secure. While ICC offers a generous refund policy (see help refund), we do not send refunds to anyone based on requests over the internet. All requests must be made in writing and are handled by our office staff. They carefully check to be sure that refunds are only released to people who made payments.

Question: Is my ICC user name and password secure?

ICC knows of no instances of customer abuse caused by hackers using 'packet sniffing' to discover a user name and password. While it is theoretically possible for a hacker to use 'packet sniffing' to eavesdrop on communication between the ICC client and server, this requires unusual internet access, code-breaking skills, and specialized software. ICC is taking steps to make this communication even more secure.

ICC's office staff and customer support representatives are trained to deal with abusers who obtain another's user name and password. Common causes include a user giving their password to the abuser, or the abuser stealing a password by looking over a user's shoulder when they sign in. Abusers can also log in when a user saves their user name and password on a public computer. Users should take care when choosing and protecting their passwords. See help password for more information.

ICC will keep this help file updated as we have new information regarding security. If you have any questions or comments, you can ask a question in Channel 1, the Help Channel, send a message to ICC or send an email to icc@chessclub.com.

See also: password, privacy, refund