Hackers grow in sophistication
The first perception that one may have of a hacker is that of a teenager with social problems and too much free time. Unfortunately, this stereotype is not descriptive of today’s hackers. They have evolved and are involved in various fraud schemes and in many cases packaging and reselling stolen information to other criminals. There are no age, gender or nationality limits.
As noted in a recent Wall Street Journal article, Symantec Corp’s latest Semi-Annual Threat Report indicates that malware designed to steal sensitive information is becoming more prevalent. Nearly 80% of these programs’ main intent is to track users’ keystrokes to steal sensitive information such as account numbers and passwords.
If you must use a public computer in a library, airport, or coffee shop, be careful and make sure you do everything you can to protect yourself. As a computer instructor, I can confirm that I have seen students log into their email account and leave the room without even logging out. If you receive bank notifications or accumulate personal information within your email account, you have just left the front door open for anyone using the computer below. Not all email programs automatically log you out after a specific period of time. Also, if you store personal information on a removable flash drive, CD, or floppy drive, don’t forget to take it with you! Unfortunately, I have seen this happen as well.
“There’s a thriving underground economy trading stolen information, and in particular information that will lead to identity theft,” complete with packaged products and well-established price lists, says Alfred Huger, vice president of Symantec Security Response.
I was amazed at how easily someone’s full identity can be obtained, and for as little as $14 to $18 for a person’s name, address, date of birth, social security number, credit card, and bank account numbers. Do you have a PayPal account? They can be purchased for $50 to $500, depending on your available balance.
A “zombie” home computer can be purchased for as little as $6. A zombie computer is a computer connected to the Internet that has been breached by a security cracker or computer virus. In most cases, a zombie computer is one of many within a botnet. Zombie computers are used to execute malevolent tasks remotely directed from the hacker. Zombie computer owners are unaware that their computer is part of a botnet. Symantec says it has detected more than six million bot-infected computers on the Internet. This is a 29% increase from the first half of last year.
“Pump and dump” schemes are an excellent example of what a zombie computer is capable of. “Pump and dump” is also known as “hype and dump manipulation” and generally involves mass emails sent to individuals to invest in a micro-cap company. While telemarketers also take advantage of this scheme, it seems more prevalent through email to gain massive exposure. After pumping the shares, the scammers make huge profits by selling their shares cheap on the market. As I write this, I just checked my Outlook inbox and was lucky enough to have such a message waiting for me. Don’t worry, I won’t buy anything.
Another popular identity theft scheme is called phishing. “Phishers attempt to fraudulently acquire sensitive information, such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details, by posing as a trusted entity in an electronic communication.” Unless you have a very sophisticated spam filtering system in place, or choose to whitelist all of your recipients by using a product similar to ChoiceOne, someone will try to steal information from you. eBay and PayPal are two of the most popular target companies. I personally receive several weekly emails from phishers claiming to represent both companies.
If your computer is breached and information is stolen, or if you unknowingly choose to provide this information through a phishing scheme, it’s only a matter of time before your identity hits the black market. You should take care to protect your identity by being careful about the websites you visit, the websites you provide information to, and the use of security software. PCWorld.com recently reviewed AntiVirus and AntiSpyware software. Please review the ratings at your convenience. [http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,130869/article.html] Personally, I was surprised to find Kaspersky Anti-Virus 6 in the number 1 spot.
Until I read the article, I had never heard of this company. I think most people are only familiar with Norton and McAfee, but there are other well rated antivirus programs such as BitDefender Antivirus 10 and Eset NOD32. The costs are minimal considering the damage that can be caused if the computer remains unprotected. Most people won’t think twice about the price of a steak from their favorite restaurant, but they will delay something as critical as protecting their computer and files.
In addition to hackers infiltrating home computers, identity theft can also result from stolen data. One of the worst documented cases to date happened to TJ MAXX, where hackers discovered at least 45.7 million credit and debit card data dating back to early 2003. Sometime in 2004, I made a purchase at Home Goods, owned by parent company, TJ Maxx. My credit card was one of the stolen ones! MasterCard contacted me and issued a new card and thankfully no damage was done to my knowledge.
Unfortunately, there are unscrupulous people who target unprotected computers and take advantage of gullible people. No matter how protective you are of your home computer and your computing behavior, you are still fair game for the weak practices of other people and business organizations where you compute. At the very least, do yourself a favor to assess your computing habits and make changes where necessary.