Many have likely heard the terms “cyber crime” or “cyber terrorism” tossed about in the media or online, but many still do not know what exactly cyber crime is, or how it concerns them. Just like regular crime, there are different degrees of cyber crime. Something as simple as spam e-mails, are illegal in some instances, though, thanks to more sophisticated spam filters being created and employed by email services, is fast becoming a thing of the past.
Probably the most common act the average user associates with “cyber crimes” or “cyber attacks” is the distribution of viruses and malware, either on a small scale or a large scale. In fact, many users may erroneously assume that such “attacks” are their biggest concern when it comes to cyber crimes. People also assume that as long as they have good anti-virus protection on their machines, they have little to worry about.
However, the frightening truth is that cyber crimes pose a much bigger threat, not only to computer and internet users, but to the entire general public. The Computer Security Institute has been conducting an ongoing Cyber Crime and Security Survey, the largest project of its kind, since 2004.
The CC&SS’ findings show a startling growth rate in cyber attacks from a large percentage of their participants, ranging from utilities and manufacturers, to local, state, and federal government. The category with the highest number of attacks and highest growth over the years has been financial institutions, such as banks, investment brokers, and credit card companies. In light of this data, it is easy to see how the issue of cyber crime is something that affects everyone, even those who may not even own computers.
Perhaps the most disturbing fact is that every business and organization cited in the survey are members, and affiliates of the Computer Security Institute, meaning they are concerned with, and actively trying to prevent, online security breaches and cyber attacks. There are a large number of companies and organizations that are far less concerned with the security of their customers and patrons.
Many of these companies also are likely not taking into account the large number of client-side security breaches. The reason is that they typically occur on a smaller scale over a longer time, rather than a large single attack that compromises a lot of information at once. One of the most common ways cyber criminals accomplish these singular attacks is with the help of common computer users through phishing schemes.
A phishing scheme is where a cyber criminal spams multiple users with fake email from well-known services in an attempt to get the user to log into their services by following the link in the email, only to have their information stolen by key loggers, which then give the cyber criminals an open door to the user’s information. This is, in fact, such a major problem that many big name websites and online services such as Google, Yahoo, Paypal, and Facebook offer ample resources to inform users on how to spot phishing attempts and avoid falling victim to them.
Leave a Reply