Yesterday, I posted an entry entitled: Melissa Hathaway on 'Five Myths About Cybersecurity' I let you know about a new report written by Ms. Hathaway concerning the lack of security on the web. Simply put, she is warning online shoppers and online banking customers that there are tens of thousands of newly introduced viruses/malware on any given day, designed to steal your credit card data or online banking credentials and that the cost of fraud is being passed on to consumers. For those of you unfamiliar with Melissa Hathaway, I've included a bio at the end of this post...
Here's more about what she had to say about Myth 1:
Here's more about what she had to say about Myth 1:
Myth 1: Consumer protection exists in cyberspaceAre consumers protected? Many companies claim that they are, but have you noticed that your credit card interest rate recently increased by five percent or more? Is this a way to pass the cost of fraud onto consumers?
False. On-line holiday shoppers beware, you are your own protection. On November 30th – or Cyber Monday as on-line retailers have dubbed the Monday after Thanksgiving – the FBI warned consumers of some of the threats presented in cyberspace, including scams intended to trick us into downloading malware or divulging sensitive information. Web browsers and anti-virus software are not going to protect us.
Why? Because in any given day there can be tens of thousands newly introduced viruses or malware that have a shelf life of 24 hours. Today’s software simply cannot keep up. And that is not all. Some botnets, such as the Storm botnet, are used to hide phishing and malicious web sites behind an ever-changing network of compromised hosts acting as proxies.
And what happens? Well, the average person holds approximately 20 online accounts for banking, internet-based mail, and social networking like MySpace or LinkedIn. The perpetrators obtain credit card data, bank-accounts, passwords and identities with which they then steal and spend your hard earned cash to support their business activities.Further, some banks are considering making their customers responsible for protecting their smart phones and computers from becoming infected so that they cannot be used to hijack their accounts.
The bottom line is that the on-line industry will find ways to pass the costs of cybercrime through to consumers, which means that it really is every man (or woman) for themselves.
Melissa Hathaway is President of Hathaway Global Strategies, LLC and Senior Advisor at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center.
Previously she served as Senior Advisor to the Director of National Intelligence and Cyber Coordination Executive during the administration of President George W. Bush, and as Acting Senior Director for Cyberspace for the National Security Council during the administration of President Barack Obama.
