the information security is lax, and hackers are winning the congame

the information security is lax, and hackers are winning the congame -

Robert Siciliano is a NextAdvisor.com Expert Guest Blogger

the organized criminals have raised the ante. mobs web world are snapping up networks of financial institutions.

We have known for some time that the long-haired, humble, pot-smoking, havoc-reeking hacker, sitting alone in the basement of his mother, hacking for fun and glory is over. He cut his hair and graduated in full time professional criminal hacker, hacking of government secrets and financial gain.

His contacts are worldwide, many from Russia and Eastern Europe, and include bright teenagers, 20-somethings, all the way to clinical psychologists who are organized, the International cyber criminals.

We are in the midst of a cold war against cybercrime.

Their only motivation is money and information and they either find their way inside the networks because of flaws in applications, or they work on their victims psychologically and deceive them entering user names and passwords, or by clicking on the links.

According to a new report from Verizon, a staggering 285 million records were compromised in 2008, exceeding the total losses for 2004-2007 combined. As much as 93% of offenses were hacks that occur in the target financial institutions.

The pirates have made $ 10 million by hacking RBS WorldPay system and then loading blank dummy cards and gift cards, and sending mules for use at ATMs. The whole system took less than a day to remove.

Many of these hacks occur due to flaws in the design of web applications. Criminals send out "sniffers", who seek these defects. Once they are found, the attack begins. Malware is generally implanted on network to retrieve user names and passwords. Once criminals have full access, they use the system as their own chipped, storing stolen data and eventually turn into cash.

Meanwhile, criminal hackers have created approximately 1.6 million security threats, according to Symantec's Internet Security Threat Report. 90% of these attacks were designed to steal personal information, including names, addresses and credit card numbers. Almost every American has had their data compromised in any way.

Unsuspecting computer users who do not update the basic security of their PC, including Windows updates, critical security patches or anti-virus definitions often become infected within a botnet. Botnets are used to perform most attacks on unprotected networks.

The same study shows computer users have been affected by 349000000000 spam and phishing messages. Many were tricked into giving personal information. It is good sense not to connect data in an email that appears to come from your bank, asking to update your account. Attacks directed at mobile phones are also rising. "Phexting" is when a text message phishes for personal data. Just hit delete.

Much of the stolen data is out of your hands. So invest in protecting against identity theft, and keep your Internet security software updated.

Robert Siciliano, identity theft speaker, discusses criminal hackers that was taken.

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.