Cybercrime is currently on the rise worldwide.
Cybercriminals, also known as hackers, are finding it very lucrative to
steal personal information from consumers. Every time a consumer goes
online, they are open to various threats that could damage not only
their personal identity, but also important data stored on their PCs.
Cybercriminals are continuously devising new ways to make your personal
information their own--for a price.
Consumers find the Internet a
tool of convenience. On a regular basis, consumers are going online to
take care of personal finances such as; banking, paying bills, and
investing. Online users also shop, communicate with family and friends,
and work from home - all benefits of the Internet. However, the same
convenience that makes consumers' lives easier can also put them at
risk.
According to the Symantec Corp.'s semiannual Internet
Security Threat Report, the United States has the highest percentage of
broadband users. The U.S. also has the highest number of bot-infected
computers in the world, with China coming in second. Bots are computer
programs that are covertly installed on a targeted system - allowing an
unauthorized user to remotely control a computer. From July 1, 2005 to
Dec. 31, 2005, bots made up 20 percent of the top 50 malicious code
samples reported to Symantec.
When a computer is infected with bot
malicious code, an attacker from a remote computer can use the system
and other infected computers to launch a denial-of-service attack, which
is also known as DoS. Businesses are the hardest hit by these attacks,
as they rely on the Internet for revenue and communication purposes. DoS
attacks increased 51 percent, (with an average of 1,420 attacks observed
daily around the world) from the previous period according to the
Internet Security Threat Report.
Machines remotely controlled, and
invisibly infected by Trojans, are known as bots and bot networks. These
networks are used to issue viruses and threats over the Internet. The
bots and bot networks target personal data, and perpetuate cybercrime by
allowing fraud, extortion, malicious code, and spyware and adware to be
installed on consumers' PCs.
Experts in the security arena believe
that the cases of bots and bot networks will increase, leaving users
vulnerable to more Web-based attacks launched by
cybercriminals.
Cybercriminals are now relying on software called
Crimeware that will help them execute online scams and steal consumer
information. Crimeware has many ways to wreak havoc on a PC; however,
the most popular are: Trojan horses, bots, keystroke loggers, spyware,
adware, and backdoors. It is common to see more than one of these
threats being used by cybercriminals. Some threats even have the
capability to disable antivirus software and firewalls, enabling the
malicious code to do even greater damage to a PC. This is also known as
being modular.
Worms, viruses, and Trojan horses--which may also
contain keystroke logging and backdoors--are the most common modular
malicious codes that can be a threat to personal data. Modular malicious
code was responsible for 88 percent of the top 50 malicious code samples
according to the Symantec Internet Security Threat Report. Malicious
code that revealed, or could reveal confidential information grew from
74 percent to 80 percent of the top 50 malicious code samples.
Money is the main motivation for these types of malicious code
attacks. Threats based from modular malicious code have assisted
criminals in stealing identities and credit card information. Once
again, security experts predict an increase in theft of personal and
confidential information for monetary gain.
Another way consumers
are being targeted is by phishing scams. Thieves trick consumers into
giving them personal information such as passwords and credit card
information. These criminals use the information lured from users to
steal identities and commit other forms of online fraud.
One in
every 119 e-mail messages were found to be a phishing attempt. This
makes up an average of 7.92 million phishing attempts per day, which was
up over the first six months of 2005, with an average of 5.70 million
phishing attempts per day found.
Computer hoaxes are another way
to mislead consumers. Hoaxes will instruct users, through phony
technical language, to send the e-mail to everyone they know. They play
on fears to mislead users. These e-mails should always be deleted, once
again reminding consumers to never open e-mail from an unknown source.
Dean Turner is senior sanager of Symantec Security
Response.
