froilanr
January 23rd, 2004, 10:10 AM
Protect your finances from hackers
By Benji Wan
INQ7.net Contributor
http://supplements.inq7.net/managingit/
Fifteen minutes.
That's the average time a computer, just hooked up to the Internet, will be attacked by hackers.
Attrition.org security consultant Brian Martin was invited last year to a security conference in the Philippines to talk to executives about the vulnerabilities of the Internet and computer networks. Martin is the webmaster of Attrition.org, a security site in the US that used to monitor defaced websites all over the world, and currently maintains the security mailing list for security geeks called InfoSec News (ISN).
Skyper, a security consultant and member of one of Germany’s respectable hacking group called The Hacker’s Choice, said there is real threat from hackers, especially in a country like the Philippines where privacy issues and infrastructure to combat cybercrimes are virtually non-existent.
Malicious activity is at an all-time high this year. "There have been more attacks in the last six months than there have been in the last 10 years," said Hossein Eslambolchi, president of AT&T Labs. Carnegie Mellon University's CERT Coordination Center which reports Internet security problems said there were 114,855 security breaches reported by users and ISPs as of September, already 32,761 more than all of 2002.
You can correctly assume that the most determined hacker intent on intruding on your network can and will get you eventually if you don't make it hard for him every step of the way.
Bank account and credit card numbers are especially desirable targets for hi-tech fraudsters. Malicious hackers can leave programs in your computer like Trojans and backdoor programs or root-kits that are used to sniff out your passwords or everything that you type on your computer including bank account numbers and credit card numbers.
These programs are intelligent enough to email these information to hackers, leaving you extremely vulnerable to anyone who wants to get hold of these financial information.
Protect yourself at home
The good news is you can keep hackers at bay and its simpler than you think. All you need are personal firewalls, software patches, and anti-virus software to turn off even the most persistent hacker.
"The key to security is to take a proactive stand," Attrition.org's Martin said. But he warned that there is no single silver-bullet solution to all security problems.
Personal firewalls include Kerio.com’s KPF, Black Ice and Zonelab.com’s ZoneAlarm. Both KPF and ZoneAlarm can be downloaded for free and are just as effective as their commercial couterparts.
If you are a Windows user, security patches--software updates that protect yourself from bugs--are critical. The best part is they are also free at http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com.
Protect yourself at work
With today's viruses becoming even more advanced, both personal and corporate users of the Internet have to be extra careful.
Skyper said network administrators are not only responsible for their company's network, but also of their business partner's. A good combination of hardware and software firewalls, kernel hardening, IDS or intrusion detection systems, religious log checks, vigilant vulnerabilities patching, practical security policies, centralized anti-virus system and user education are among the most important things a security admin must know and follow to keep hackers away.
Don't underestimate the damage that can be done by social engineering. "Common threats to security range from malicious programs, to insecure operating system, to the most common of all -- human errors and stupidity," Martin added.
People easily fall to a hacker's social engineering skills primarily because it’s human nature to be trusting. A password written on a computer monitor or given over email or telephone is the only thing it takes to compromise an entire company's network.
It may sound too much like a trumped-up scare tactic like Sentinels in the Matrix, but if Microsoft is scared enough to put a five-million dollar bounty on the authors of the Slammer and SOBIG worms, you should be scared, too.
The reality is, if malicious hackers get a crack at your security passwords and financial records, nothing can prevent them from messing with your financial life.
By Benji Wan
INQ7.net Contributor
http://supplements.inq7.net/managingit/
Fifteen minutes.
That's the average time a computer, just hooked up to the Internet, will be attacked by hackers.
Attrition.org security consultant Brian Martin was invited last year to a security conference in the Philippines to talk to executives about the vulnerabilities of the Internet and computer networks. Martin is the webmaster of Attrition.org, a security site in the US that used to monitor defaced websites all over the world, and currently maintains the security mailing list for security geeks called InfoSec News (ISN).
Skyper, a security consultant and member of one of Germany’s respectable hacking group called The Hacker’s Choice, said there is real threat from hackers, especially in a country like the Philippines where privacy issues and infrastructure to combat cybercrimes are virtually non-existent.
Malicious activity is at an all-time high this year. "There have been more attacks in the last six months than there have been in the last 10 years," said Hossein Eslambolchi, president of AT&T Labs. Carnegie Mellon University's CERT Coordination Center which reports Internet security problems said there were 114,855 security breaches reported by users and ISPs as of September, already 32,761 more than all of 2002.
You can correctly assume that the most determined hacker intent on intruding on your network can and will get you eventually if you don't make it hard for him every step of the way.
Bank account and credit card numbers are especially desirable targets for hi-tech fraudsters. Malicious hackers can leave programs in your computer like Trojans and backdoor programs or root-kits that are used to sniff out your passwords or everything that you type on your computer including bank account numbers and credit card numbers.
These programs are intelligent enough to email these information to hackers, leaving you extremely vulnerable to anyone who wants to get hold of these financial information.
Protect yourself at home
The good news is you can keep hackers at bay and its simpler than you think. All you need are personal firewalls, software patches, and anti-virus software to turn off even the most persistent hacker.
"The key to security is to take a proactive stand," Attrition.org's Martin said. But he warned that there is no single silver-bullet solution to all security problems.
Personal firewalls include Kerio.com’s KPF, Black Ice and Zonelab.com’s ZoneAlarm. Both KPF and ZoneAlarm can be downloaded for free and are just as effective as their commercial couterparts.
If you are a Windows user, security patches--software updates that protect yourself from bugs--are critical. The best part is they are also free at http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com.
Protect yourself at work
With today's viruses becoming even more advanced, both personal and corporate users of the Internet have to be extra careful.
Skyper said network administrators are not only responsible for their company's network, but also of their business partner's. A good combination of hardware and software firewalls, kernel hardening, IDS or intrusion detection systems, religious log checks, vigilant vulnerabilities patching, practical security policies, centralized anti-virus system and user education are among the most important things a security admin must know and follow to keep hackers away.
Don't underestimate the damage that can be done by social engineering. "Common threats to security range from malicious programs, to insecure operating system, to the most common of all -- human errors and stupidity," Martin added.
People easily fall to a hacker's social engineering skills primarily because it’s human nature to be trusting. A password written on a computer monitor or given over email or telephone is the only thing it takes to compromise an entire company's network.
It may sound too much like a trumped-up scare tactic like Sentinels in the Matrix, but if Microsoft is scared enough to put a five-million dollar bounty on the authors of the Slammer and SOBIG worms, you should be scared, too.
The reality is, if malicious hackers get a crack at your security passwords and financial records, nothing can prevent them from messing with your financial life.