Russia native teaches information security in America
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Natalya Goreva, Assistant Professor of Information Technology at Point Park University.
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In 2001, Natalya Goreva left her family in Ivanovo, Russia, to pursue a doctorate at a university in the United States.
Now she is an expert in making safe purchases online and preventing identity theft.
Ms. Goreva, 34, lives in Shadyside and is an assistant professor of information at Point Park University, where she specializes in information security and Web programming and development.
After earning bachelor's and master's degrees in mathematics from Ivanovo State University, she applied to five schools in the U.S. -- four in Washington, D.C. On a whim, she also applied to Utah State University because a friend was studying there. She was accepted to a few schools, but Utah State was the only one that offered financial assistance, so in August 2001 she headed to the Pacific Northwest.
After completing her doctorate in business information systems from Utah State, she was hired by Point Park University.
In addition to her work in Internet security, Ms. Goreva does translation work -- she translated a book of poetry from English to her native language, Russian.
When buying items online, she said, consumers should avoid little-known online merchants because, even if your data and credit card information is secure, you could end up not receiving your purchase or it could be damaged when it arrives.
She also recommends checking the site's encryption. Most sites include security information in their privacy policy or security practices links at the bottom of the page, and you can also check the encryption by looking at the URL: If it changes from "http" to "https," the transmission is secure.
Ms. Goreva said if you must shop on an unknown site, generate a one-time-use credit card number. Many banks will give you the option of creating a single-use credit card number, three-digit security number and an expiration date. Your actual credit card is then charged through your bank, but your information is safe.
First Published January 5, 2012 12:00 am
