One day my friend posted obscene and hurtful messages on the facebook-walls of his close friends. Well, that is according to Facebook. But, in fact, he did not!! Welcome to the untamed world of internet. My friend’s facebook credentials were compromised by a hacker and the rest is history. Thanks to the automated security controls of Facebook, my friend was alerted to reset his password. However, the damage was already done. It is not uncommon to hear thousands of similar incidents everyday around us and yet the awareness among the public is shockingly dismal to the extent of people sticking a post-it, with userid/password written on it, on the computer monitor.
Information Security is more like Global Warming which is a disaster waiting to happen and the world citizens are not prepared to face the inconvenient truth. In today’s world, although there is an overload of information over the web, especially pertaining to real-life security incidents, it is natural for readers to be attracted towards more entertaining Hollywood websites. Who cares until it hits me? Right?
Furthermore, thanks to the advancement of the bad guys, the dangers of Information Security is convoluted with terms like Malware, Spyware, Trojan Horse, Virus, Worm, Spam, Firewalls, IDS, IPS etc. It is simply mindboggling even for most of the IT geeks to get a perspective of this ocean of threats that we humans have created for ourselves in the name of advancement.
Gone are the years when cybercrime used to be a school kid’s amusement park for pranks. Today, cybercrime is a lucrative business that has got the attention of even the underworld dons and the organized crime sector. According to SC Magazine, cybercrime costs organizations $3.8 million per year on average. The overall cost to the UK economy from cybercrime is £27bn per year, according to the first joint Government and industry report. It is estimated that Data theft and breaches from cybercrime may have cost businesses as much as $1 trillion globally (per year) in lost intellectual property and expenditures for repairing the damage.
This is the plight of the big guns around the globe. Now, think of the commoner who uses an old PC at home to browse the internet. Well, the answer is obvious.
A commoner who is oblivious to the technology will be inclined to blame it all on technology. On the contrary, it is the human weakness/aspect that creates all these vulnerabilities. Most of the cybercrimes committed are because of the victims who do not take precautionary steps to protect their information.
Forget the convoluted jargons and technology. As a commoner, there are simple precautionary steps that can be taken to secure the adventure in to the World Wide Web. Here it goes….
1. Install a good anti-virus software in your PC and keep it updated on a daily basis.
2. Create smart and strong passwords. Avoid the passwords relating to your personal life: family names, date of birth, pet name etc.
3. Be smart while chatting. The person who is chatting with you may not be as sweet as he or she seems to be. Do not reveal any personal information even to known people over chat forums.
4. Beware of Phishing Scams: While chatting with you friends, someone, posing as a Bank or Tax Authority, might ask for your IDs or passwords or any identification. Remember, Banks never approach their customers to get such information through chat forums.
5. Never give your passwords or pins even to Bank authorities. If the Bank authority is asking for such passwords, report them to higher authorities.
6. Pay attention to your children’s online activities. Predators do not have to break into your homes anymore. They can break in through the internet cables to reach out to your kids.
7. Online Shopping: Before you decide to use a website for shopping, ensure that the website has a “HackerSafe” logo with current date under it and a locked padlock at the bottom right of the checkout screen.
8. Never open an email from an unknown sender. Even if the sender is known to you, beware of clicking any links or downloading any attachments as the sender’s PC might be infected with virus.
9. Backup your files regularly.
10. While using online banking, always use the virtual keyboard for entering password. With Trojans, your keystrokes on the physical keyboard can be monitored to derive your userid and password. In this case, using virtual keyboards can protect you from Trojans.
11. If you have a wireless router, change the default password. If not, a terrorist can use your internet sitting in a car parked in front of your house and, rest assured, you will be jailed by the authorities.
For some, most of these precautions might sound trivial, but brunt force of cybercrime will not be felt until it really hits you. So, venture into the web responsibly.
