Article Summary
This National Post article summarizes a “Report on Emerging Cyber Threats” published by the Georgia Tech Information Security Centre, a renowned information systems security organization and educational facility situated in Atlanta, Georgia of the United States.
The report conveys that the prime targets of cyber crime in 2011 will be:
(1) Individuals who use internet-connected mobile devices;(2) Individuals who use social networks;
(3) Hospital, electrical and other utility companies.
As internet-connected mobile devices functionality includes banking, (and soon paying for purchases), and accessing health records, there are links created to sensitive information for which cyber criminals are searching. A major challenge is developing security software for a mobile device that does not dramatically reduce battery life.
Pertaining to users of social networks, cyber criminals are searching for information. Mustaque Ahamad, director of the information security centre stated “once (a criminal) compromises your account, they have access to your friends.”
Regarding hospitals and utility company systems, these facilities are becoming more electronically linked. There have been increasing breaches in similar facilities in overseas countries.
Simple Measures to Lessen Exposure to Cyber Crime
- Turn off modems and mobile devices when not in use.
- Do not open unfamiliar email attachments.
Personal Views
My comments are directed towards users of internet-connected mobile devices.
I agree with Georgia Tech that mobile devices will be targeted for cyber crimes.
Naturally, security lags a bit behind the technology. A company will not spend time and effort on security unless they know there is demand for it.
From a business standpoint, it is understandable that the producers of mobile devices need to have their technology as cutting-edge.
It is also understandable, for those businesses embracing easier payment methods, such as swiping your mobile phone to pay for a purchase. Business requires keeping up with or staying ahead of the competition.
However, as a consumer, it is “buyer beware”. Or perhaps, it is more accurate to say “user beware”.
It is remarkable to consider that from a hand-held device, we are able to:
- use as phone;
- perform work and business tasks;
- organize and schedule our social life;
- be entertained by playing games, viewing video, listening to music, reading an e-book;
- use email;
- have internet access;
- maintain medical information and other personal information;
- do online banking and investing;
- and most recently, pay for purchases by swiping the mobile device.
In essence, our mobile phones are becoming more like mobile computers with convenience and portability.
However, we should expect to have, at minimum, the protections that we use on a personal computer. The protections mentioned in the article are only the basics. I believe we also need safeguards against viruses, worms, malware, spyware, adware, trojans, bots, spam, phishing and others. Further recommendations are using data-encryption for sensitive information and the utilization of firewalls.
Ideally, if the internet-connected mobile device belongs to an organizational network that is able to monitor email and internet usage, that will likely aid greatly in protection, but it is not fail proof.
If your mobile device is not part of a secure network and does not have security software, it would be prudent to be very cautious. Personal information such as passwords, banking information and emails can be used to access your finances or steal your identity.
The mobile phone (computer) convenience can be at an expensive price.
Note, there should be increased demand for people developing security software.
Nearly everyone on this planet has some sort of social networking account and should be aware of the risks involved with them, and not just for their sake, for the safety and security of their friends as well. I would feel terrible if a hacker used my information to steal money or other personal information. I am very careful with email and what links I click on, but the average person knows little about how these things can endanger your personal information. Social networking is one of the biggest markets of our time and security should be at a premium for these sites.
ReplyDeleteIt’s scary to think that hackers have started to retrieve personal information form cell phones. Something that everyone has on them almost all of the time and the applications for cell phones are increasing greatly. Not just fun and games apps, but apps that can hold sensitive and personal information, from pictures to banking information. Especially now that cell phones are starting to be developed with applications that will enable you to pay for shopping items, not just online, but in stores replacing bank cards and credit cards. The sooner the security software can be developed for these devices, the better. Battery power and cost issues should be less concern for future cell phone holders considering what could potentially happen if a hacker gets a hold of your personal information. A few hundred extra dollars could turn into thousands without proper security in place.
Internet-connected mobile devices have brought enormous benefits to our daily life and business. However, as it was mentioned in the news article “Cyber crime to target mobile devices, social networks”, the criminals are increasingly trying to possess personal information from innocent people through different social networks. There are not many people suspicious of anyone over the internet. If you are off- guard for a second, you could be one of the victims. So it is really important to know how to prevent this from happening to you. I think if I use internet-connected mobile devices to work on my own business, I would take the following steps to protect my company, customers, and my personal information from data theft and loss. First of all, I will create a strong password to prevent my lap top or Smartphone from malicious software and other computing threats. Second, I will protect my passwords by turning off my browser’s automatic password remembering functions. Third, I will make sure if any sensitive or confidential information stored on my lap top or Smartphone really needs to be there, such as my business information, my customers’ information, my personal information, such as credit card numbers, health card number, bank account numbers, address, and date of birth.
ReplyDeleteBy Xin
This is a very interesting topic that can help bring awareness to people in being more careful with releasing their personal as well as business information on the phone or some other social networking sites. The technology has developed very fast in the couple of last decades, thus bringing threats from cyber criminals, who work overtime to get a hang of the latest technology so that they can manipulate the information that they find. Social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook help many companies connect with customers, but they also make it easier than ever before, for employees to share private customer information and company secrets with outsiders.
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, with the recent invention of mobile payments where consumers will be able to pay their bills over the phone it might not be secure to rely on newer technology since cyber criminals could retrieve information from people’s bank accounts. Another problem is that the information people publish on social networking sites could be searched on Google. Employers usually share on those sites their organizations’ personal information such as meeting times and dates, and thus that information can be caught by cyber criminals. People should be very concerned about how private information is easily accessible through mobile phone. It is very important to be careful about what information you give to people and how.
Overall, I think it is sufficient for people to have passwords so that only they can access the information they have in their phones.