The times of careless surfing on the Internet are definitely over. Online gangsters are launching more and more targeted attacks against end users and companies of all sizes. Their only interest? Making money.
“The era of script kids, playing around with viruses and worms for fun has come to an end. Nowadays, a whole industry of highly organised cyber gangsters has taken their place,” explained David Emm, senior technology consultant at Kaspersky Lab (UK).
It’s a hugely worrying statistic that, during 2008, there were 500 new cases of online child abuse reported every month. That represents an increase of 67% on 2007.
Meanwhile, last year one-in-ten innocent individuals were said to be affected by online fraud, with victims losing an average of GB pound 875 each.
“Education regarding the current level of delinquency on the Internet is extremely important to users of all ages”, Emm continued. “Thus, we at Kaspersky Lab feel that Safer Internet Day is a great initiative.”
Safety equals behaviour
It’s not only the level of professionalism among cybercriminals that puts personal data at risk – it’s also the behaviour of the user him/herself that places them in danger. For example, on social networking sites finding new friends online is, of course, fun but what about the other side of the coin?
Everything that’s becoming more and more popular, such as social engineering or even smartphones, will be on the list of the cybercriminal.
“Social networking threats have become a serious danger in recent times,” confirmed Emm. “The idea behind it is simple. The cyber gangsters might steal the identity of an online friend and impersonate him in order to attack a larger group of people in the network that trusts in the known contact. This is pure social engineering.”
Emm continued: “To be protected against this and a number of other threat scenarios, it’s not only important to have your machine always patched with the latest updates, but it’s crucial to use the comprehensive protection system that is only provided by an up-to-date Internet security software.”
Find out more about Safer Internet Day
To learn more about safety online and to join in with the ‘Safer Internet Movement’, take a look at the broad range of activities that are being carried out around Safer Internet Day by accessing the dedicated web site (we’ve provided a link for you on the right hand panel of this page)