Beware the web of deceit on the Internet
Beware the web of deceit on the Internet
That pal on your website chatroom may not be who you think they are, a company that helps firms protect their computers from identity thieves warned yesterday.
Crooks prefer targeting firms, educational systems, healthcare and governments hoping for links to customers to rip off, but Dean Turner said social networking sites are the latest open door for hackers seeking your name, bank and serial number.
"Identity theft is a huge global problem," Turner, global intelligence network director of Symantec Corporation, a California firm with offices in Canada, said from Calgary.
And since the Internet can be accessed from anywhere, he said "there's real crime taking place in the digital world."
Not having read the federal government's proposed tougher penalties for people who illegally have someone else's personal information, Turner said he could not comment on the impact.
But he said with safeguards that already exist -- including proper firewalls, spam-blocking software, anti-fraud programs and updates -- using a computer "is about 90% safe.
"We don't want to say the sky is falling, but with hackers becoming the newest face on old-style conmen, "there is a threat environment," Turner cautioned.
"The financial institutions, in a lot of ways, are very, very aware of the type of activity" and invest heavily in safeguards, so if one gets hacked, he said "it's definitely a targeted attempt, possibly to order."
SOCIAL THREAT
The newest threat comes from social networking sites, which have expanded services onto websites, Turner said.
"People are using web browsers more," and site owners let clients build their own applications, opening the doors wider and wider, which makes it difficult to identify users or police them.
Hacking was at the root of 74% of the cases in which Symantec found data thefts that resulted in people's IDs and financial information being exposed, Turner said.
The firm said it helps clients "protect their infrastructure, information and interactions by delivering software and services that address risks to security, availability, compliance and performance."
Most people are suspicious of giving information to someone they don't know, so Turner recommends analysing requests made over the Internet, research, plus "a healthy dose of skepticism," as good defences in the wide world of websites.
Fast responses to a possible invasion are also a key to plugging a cyberhole, with notification of banks, credit card firms and businesses that could be duped into handing over cash or transferring deeds to an identity thief.
Crooks prefer targeting firms, educational systems, healthcare and governments hoping for links to customers to rip off, but Dean Turner said social networking sites are the latest open door for hackers seeking your name, bank and serial number.
"Identity theft is a huge global problem," Turner, global intelligence network director of Symantec Corporation, a California firm with offices in Canada, said from Calgary.
And since the Internet can be accessed from anywhere, he said "there's real crime taking place in the digital world."
Not having read the federal government's proposed tougher penalties for people who illegally have someone else's personal information, Turner said he could not comment on the impact.
But he said with safeguards that already exist -- including proper firewalls, spam-blocking software, anti-fraud programs and updates -- using a computer "is about 90% safe.
"We don't want to say the sky is falling, but with hackers becoming the newest face on old-style conmen, "there is a threat environment," Turner cautioned.
"The financial institutions, in a lot of ways, are very, very aware of the type of activity" and invest heavily in safeguards, so if one gets hacked, he said "it's definitely a targeted attempt, possibly to order."
SOCIAL THREAT
The newest threat comes from social networking sites, which have expanded services onto websites, Turner said.
"People are using web browsers more," and site owners let clients build their own applications, opening the doors wider and wider, which makes it difficult to identify users or police them.
Hacking was at the root of 74% of the cases in which Symantec found data thefts that resulted in people's IDs and financial information being exposed, Turner said.
The firm said it helps clients "protect their infrastructure, information and interactions by delivering software and services that address risks to security, availability, compliance and performance."
Most people are suspicious of giving information to someone they don't know, so Turner recommends analysing requests made over the Internet, research, plus "a healthy dose of skepticism," as good defences in the wide world of websites.
Fast responses to a possible invasion are also a key to plugging a cyberhole, with notification of banks, credit card firms and businesses that could be duped into handing over cash or transferring deeds to an identity thief.
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