Cyber Attack Identity Theft
By: linda klitcher
Majority of security chiefs express belief taking the right precautions
will protect the average consumer from becoming a victim of identity
theft.
About 58 percent of the respondents say identity theft can be prevented,
28 percent believe identity theft is inevitable regardless of the
precautions taken by consumers, while 15 percent are simply unsure.
Of those who believe precautionary steps will help, respondents, comprising
the nation's leading security executives, recommend 10 tips in safeguarding
against identity theft.
They are do not share passwords or PIN numbers with anyone (95%);
do not reply to, or click on links within, emails or pop-up messages
that ask for personal or financial information (92%); update virus
protection software regularly (91%); update security patches for web
browsers and operating systems regularly (90%); protect your social
security number at all costs i.e., do not give it out unless it is
mandatory (90%); shred, or otherwise destroy, all documents with personal
information prior to disposal (90%); monitor personal credit reports
and statements from financial accounts regularly (89%); install firewall
software (88%); before transmitting personal information online, verify
that the connection is secure i.e., check for an "s" after "http"
in the URL, as well as a lock symbol in the lower right-hand corner
of the screen, which indicates the transmission is encrypted (84%);
and do not email personal or financial information (71%).
Only 2% of respondents recommend staying offline altogether as a precautionary
measure.
Majority, or 74 percent, of the respondents believe the theft of an
average consumer's identity is the fault of both consumers and organizations
failing to implement security precautions. Only 16% believe theft
is more likely as a result of organization's failure to protect personal
information, while 8% believe lack of security precautions among consumers
is more likely to lead to identity theft.
"Cybersecurity really requires cooperation of individuals, companies
and government, as these results indicate. The good news is that the
steps CSOs recommend for consumers are pretty straightforward. You
don't have to be a computer expert to greatly reduce your risk of
identity theft," says Derek Salter, CSO magazine editor.
Meanwhile, 45 percent of respondents anticipate a "digital Pearl Harbor"
i.e, a situation where a dedicated group of cyber-terrorists or malicious
hackers plunge America into chaos by using computer-technology and
the Internet to attack national critical infrastructure in the future,
with 32% anticipating an attack to occur in more than one year and
10% anticipating it to occur within 7-12 months.
Although almost half of security executives responding to the survey
anticipate digital Pearl Harbor, 59 percent of the respondents are
not confident in the U.S. government's ability to successfully secure
the U.S. information infrastructure and respond to cyber emergencies.
When asked how government could better safeguard cyberspace for its
citizens, the top answer from respondents is a tie between establishing
better communication with and among the private sector (71%) and educating
more people about cyber security roles and capabilities (71%). Other
high-scoring recommendations include: make cyber security a greater
priority (70%), educate the nation's critical infrastructure on cyber
security risks and how to respond to cyber emergencies (68%), and
develop national cyber threat and vulnerability evaluations and cyber
security contingency strategies (64%). Of note, 49% of respondents
believe consumers, the private sector and the U.S. government are
equally responsible for securing cyberspace.
CSOs are also facing cyber security threats on the home front. Survey
findings reveal the majority of respondents (and/or someone in their
household) experience spyware/adware (75%), virus or other malicious
code (71%) and phishing attacks (59%) at home. One in four (24%) respondents
cites exposure of private or sensitive information by a third party
as something someone in their household personally experienced. Only
fourteen percent (14%) of security executives and/or their household
members have personally experienced identity theft. Of those respondents
who have experienced identity theft in their household, the average
dollar amount loss is $1,558.
Read more about Identity
Theft
Author Resource:-> Craig Keagan
Author of
http://www.backgroundcheckrecordsearch.com/Cyber-attack-identity-theft.html
">Identity Theft
Article From Article
Emporium
Keeping Your Computer Safe From Viruses
By: Matthew Hick
To keep your computer safe from the multitude of computer viruses
out there, there are several things you should be aware of. Let's
examine a few that might just save your computer.
Get yourself high-quality virus protection software:
If you don't have virus protection software on your computer, you
are pretty much leaving yourself open to viruses, spyware, malware,
adware, worms, and other devious programs that can eventually lead
to the destruction of your files and your computer. And, if you
happen to be hit with a highly malicious virus, you can even become
the victim of identity theft. A computer virus can literally get
on to your computer, record every keystroke you make, and find out
all of your passwords, bank account, and charge card information.
So if you think that you don't need good virus protection software,
ask yourself if ending up with a drained bank account is worth not
taking the care to spend a few extra dollars on a virus protection
program.
What is the best software for virus protection?
There are many, many companies that market and sell great virus
protection software. Some of the top virus protection software available
on the market for the year 2007 includes: The Shield Pro, Bit Defender
9, Norton Antivirus, Kaspersky 5.0, McAfee Virusscan, Trend PC-cillin,
and Panda Antivirus.
Let's take a look at one of these programs. The Shield Pro, for
example, is both an anti-virus and firewall program. (Note that
many popular anti-virus software programs come with firewall protection
as well.) The Shield Pro is a good program for people who don't
know too much about computers or virus protection. This is due to
the fact that it is very simple to install and use. It will literally
walk the user right through the very short installation process,
and explain what is going on. This particular program scans your
computer once a week and updates itself just as often. You don't
have to remember to run scans with this program, as it does it on
its own. If you have a problem getting The Shield Pro to work, it
comes with a live help option. The Shield Pro does not take up a
lot of space on your hard drive, unlike other popular programs.
Therefore, it will not slow down your system to get the virus protection
that you need.
The importance of updating anti-virus software:
It cannot be stressed enough just how important it is to update
your anti-virus program. This is because your anti-virus software
will only be 100% effective if it is totally up-to-date. Typically,
if you purchase anti-virus software, it comes with one year of free
updates for virus protection. After your year runs out, you will
still have the anti-virus software on your PC, however you will
have to purchase additional updates and make sure that you keep
them up-to-date! For example, when your year runs out, you can simply
purchase service for another year or more.
Author Resource:-> More Computer
Security Articles at http://eComputerSecurity-Today.com.
Learn how to operate a Successful Niche Website Network at
http://eWebCreator.com. Matthew
Hick has been designing profitable Niche
Adsense Websites for over 5 years.
Article From Article
Emporium
Essential Computer Security Tools
By: Matthew Hick
Computers are basically a necessity in today's ever-changing world
of technological advances. Chance are if you are reading this article,
you have a computer. Or, you know how to use a computer. Since this
is the case, don't you think you should know how to protect your PC
from harm?
Anti-spyware and anti-malware software to protect your computer:
Spyware and malware are two of the most dangerous and annoying types
of viruses and worms out there in cyberspace. If you want to protect
yourself from these pesky bugs, you will have to get a top-notch anti-spyware
and anti-malware program. Some widely trusted programs such as this
are Webroot Spy Sweeper, SpyBlaster, and Windows Defender. You can
look for them on the Internet and download them directly from their
official web sites. You will also most likely find these programs
in electronics and computer shops. And, if you happen to have Internet
cable or DSL service, your provider will typically offer you free
programs to use.
However, once the program has an update out (which can happen weekly,
since things change quickly in cyberspace), you must take it upon
yourself to update it. That is one responsibility that you simply
cannot let slide. If you fail to protect your computer from spyware
and malware, you could find yourself as a victim of identity theft.
You could even find your bank accounts broken into. Remember: take
your computer's safety into your own hands.
Firewalls for your computer:
High-end firewalls such as ZoneAlarm Pro can quickly prevent hackers
from breaking into your computer system. Without a good firewall,
there is nothing to prevent unwanted people from looking at just about
everything you do... and type.
Virus protection software for your PC:
The absolute number one thing you need for the ultimate computer protection
is good virus protection software. There are many anti-virus programs
that are presently popular among frequent computer users, including
Panda Antivirus, Trend PC-cillin, The Shield Pro, Bit Defender 9,
Norton Antivirus, Kaspersky 5.0, and McAfee Virusscan.
Most of these anti-virus programs come with built in firewalls. They
are all typically simple to install and understand after reading the
instructions. They will also all run detailed virus scans on your
computer as often as you desire. Some programs even have a feature
that will check for virus updates automatically and will scan automatically.
So, if you tend to be a forgetful person, this feature will help you
out a great deal!
One thing you must remember when you use anti-virus software programs
is that you need to keep tabs on when they need to be updated. Your
new software may provide you with a year of updates, but after that
you may have to pay for additional months and years. It is in your
best interest to keep your anti-virus software as updated as you can
- as there tends to be a new virus around the corner each and every
day.
Author Resource:-> More Computer
Security Tools Articles at http://eComputerSecurity-Today.com.
Learn how to operate a Successful Niche Website Network at
http://eWebCreator.com. Matthew
Hick has been designing profitable Niche
Adsense Websites for over 5 years.
Article From Article
Emporium
|
