Robert Siciliano is a NextAdvisor.com Expert Guest Blogger
I am very angry about this. There are criminals pirates, and then there are the bastards who target children. Last week, hackers have infiltrated "Curious George" PBS page. The visitors were sent to a fake login page, and when they tried to log on, they were served with an error page containing hidden JavaScript that was then loaded malware that attempted to exploit vulnerabilities Adobe Acrobat Reader, AOL Radio and AMPX SuperBuddy and Apple QuickTime. Computers that do not have the latest security updates have been infected with the virus.
So, imagine that you are in your kitchen, perhaps make a cake. Every so often, you look at your child astonishment of three years, which can not color inside the lines or spell or count over twenty or even tie his own shoes, but can navigate through the different PBSKids.com games. Little do you know that a hacker tries to take advantage of the recreation of your child in order to access your data. Is there no shame? Limitations? Apparently not. It is immediately evident how hackers compromised the site. They may have benefited from a known and exploited a SQL injection vulnerability flaw.
Lax security practices by consumers give scammers a base from which to launch attacks. In the first five months of 2008, IBM Internet Security Systems blocked 5000 SQL injections every day. In June, the number enriched to 25 000 per day. In October, there were more than 450,000 attacks per day.
To prevent your computer from becoming a zombie, keep your operating system, browser, media player, and all your software updated, and make sure to install and update software Internet security. To prevent identity theft, you might consider getting yourself a credit freeze, or setting up your own fraud alerts, or invest in a protection service against identity theft.
Robert Siciliano, identity theft speaker, discusses criminal hackers on Fox News.
Robert Siciliano is CEO of IDTheftSecurity.com, an expert on identity theft, professional speaker, security analyst, published author and television news correspondent. Siciliano works with Fortune 1000 and start-up companies as a consultant on product launches, branding, messaging, representation, SEO and media. the thoughts and advice of Siciliano on all these issues often appear in both television and print media news, including CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, FOX, Forbes and USA Today. He has 25 years of safety training as a member of the American Society for Industrial Security. He is the author of two books, including The Safety Minute: Living on high alert; How to take control of your personal safety and to prevent fraud . He also established a partnership with Uni-Ball to help raise awareness of the growing threat of identity theft and provide tips on how you can protect yourself.