[ Johannesburg, 29 May 2009 ] - In today's trying economic climate, it is becoming clear that every organization in every industry sector, be it financial, retail or telecommunications, is a target for cyber criminals. If they conduct banking online or host customer and supplier information, businesses must ensure they have proper security measures in place not to fall victim to these crimes.
This is according to Costin Raiu, Chief Security Expert at Kaspersky Lab, EEMEA, addressing delegates at ITWeb's 4th Annual IT Security Summit 2009 in South Africa this week.
The conference provided information security professionals and IT managers with the most up-to-date information, tools, trends, legislation and strategies to address information security issues.
“Cybercrime accounts for billions of dollars in terms of losses annually and the criminals are becoming more professional in developing technologies designed to counteract traditional anti-virus solutions every day. It is not so much an issue of computer malware, but the countless vulnerabilities in operating systems as well as the installed software applications that make it very hard to run secure computer systems,” he says.
Raiu says contributing factors that lead to the flourishing of premeditated online crime is the evolution of malicious code from viruses to Trojan horse attacks, designed to steal personal information for financial gain.
“Online payment systems and online banking systems often make use of simplistic authentication technologies, and hackers use keystroke loggers, password-stealing Trojans and social engineering to gain access to accounts which are later emptied of funds.
“Even systems that use complicated multi-factor authentication techniques are at risk with the introduction of specialised Trojan horses, which are able to intercept transfers on-the-fly and replace the destination account with the attacker's account or highjack an online banking session,” he says.
“At the same time, banking institutions that offer financial services online must use a blended approach to security, using two-factor authentication methods that rely on external devices to ensure that user accounts are not compromised,” he says.
In his closing comments, Raiu said businesses have to begin to realize that the IT security threat is not going to go away. The protection against such risks, he says, must be international priority, involving various industry experts and associations to guard against these financial risks.
Thieves make ATM withdrawal By JOHN LATIMER Staff Writer | Lebanon Daily News
Thieves entered a Lebanon laundromat early yesterday, muscled loose removed an ATM machine that was bolted to the floor and made off with it.
Security tapes at A&S Laundromat, 230 E. Cumberland St., show two men in dark, hooded sweatshirts entering the side door of the store about 2:10 a.m. It took them just 90 seconds to shake the 400-pound machine hard enough that its four bolts broke loose from the tile floor, slide it across the floor and out the back door.
Theprogress of e-commerce in Germany—home to Europe’s largest Internetpopulation—was relatively slow, retarded by many of the same issuesseen earlier in other countries, such as the UK and the US. Heightenedsecurity concerns and adherence to traditional payment habits on thepart of many Germans hindered the development of online selling. But the situation has changed.
By the end of 2008, the GfK Groupreported that retail e-commerce sales—excluding event tickets,financial products and travel—reached €13.6 billion ($20 billion), up€2.2 billion ($3.2 billion) from 2007.
“Consumers in Germany have largely overcome their reluctance aboutbuying online,” says Karin von Abrams, eMarketer senior analyst andauthor of the new report, Germany Online: Europe’s Biggest E-Commerce Market Comes of Age. Eurostatcalculated that 89% of Germany’s male Internet users ages 16 to 74shopped online in 2008—the same percentage that sent or receivede-mails.
Among males ages 25 to 54, the percentage who shopped online was 93%.
Read Below How to Order eMarketer's Report on E-Germany
Germany Online:Europe's Biggest E-Commerce Market Comes of Age
The progress of e-commerce in Germany, Europe’s largest Internetpopulation, reflects patterns seen earlier in other countries, such asthe UK and the US. But cautious consumers’ security concerns andtraditional payment habits are increasingly being overcome.
The Germany Online report analyzes the factors driving the surge in German e-commerce.
Many German retailers were slow to recognize the advantages ofInternet sales—30% of the German firms selling on the Web last yearlaunched their online stores in 2007 or later.
Nevertheless, sales are growing.
By the end of 2008, German retail e-commerce sales—excluding eventtickets, financial products and travel—reached €13.6 billion ($20billion), up €2.2 billion ($3.2 billion) from 2007. Key questions the “Germany Online” report answers:
How many German consumers are buying products and services on the Internet?
How do online buying patterns vary with age and gender?
How is the arrival of online shopping clubs changing the e-commerce landscape?
What is the current level of interest in mobile commerce?
And many others…
eMarketer Reports—On Target and Up to Date The Germany Onlinereport aggregates the latest data from international marketing andcommunications researchers with eMarketer analysis to provide theinformation you need to make fast, whip-smart business decisions.
Finextra has a story on the Western Union scam (The PIN Payments Blog told you about it on May 12th) but "their" story talks about Graham "Cluely" (a senior tech consultant at Sophos) complaining that people are "Clueless"
Oh really Graham? And you just figured that out? Who Clued you in? Was it that Pareto guy?
A Phunny Phishing story. Oh, and if you are one of the dumb people, please don't be offended by the graphics...just a dumb attempt on my part to be phunny.
WesternUnion has become the latest firm to have its brand hijacked byphishers, with a flood of trojan-laden e-mails purporting to come fromthe money transfer outfit hitting inboxes.
Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant, Sophos, suggests the attack is unlikely to fool all but the most gullible.
"Ifyou haven't sent any money via Western Union, then why would they betelling you it failed to be delivered properly? Common sense is yourfriend. It's just such a shame that it doesn't seem to be very common,"says Cluley.
Editor's Note: Common Sense dictates that "If everyone else is drinking the Kool-Aid, then maybe I should drink it too!"
It's the uncommon sense that prevails. Don't believe me? Ask the lemming that "didn't" jump off the cliff.
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Thieves make ATM withdrawal
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