by Josh Arrington
As we work to shake off the post-Labor Day blues, consider this week’s top security stories to get you re-acclimated to the risks around you….from Britons having to look over their shoulder (online!) and cyber crime at a Bikini Bar, to a new market for the The Cyber Club….let’s get schooled!
Britons Safer on the Street than Online: Results from the Norton Cyber Crime Report found that Britons are three times more likely to suffer online crime than they are street crime. The global survey of approximately 20,000 people found that more than half of the UK population (51 per cent) has been affected by some kind of cyber crime. Additionally, the survey found the top three online threats were viruses (38 per cent), credit card scams (10 per cent) and social networking fraud (six per cent). Check your anti-virus software people!
Grab Your Cover-Up: Bikinis Sports Bar & Grill is an unlikely spot for a cyber security shake-down. So, we suppose you have to give David Palmer (no, not the idealistic president from 24) some credit for selecting a, um, “colorful” backdrop for his crime. Among the charges he was convicted on, the disgruntled IT administrator decided to strike back at his former employer by breaking into the company’s systems and deleting payroll files for one of its customers. Palmer will be sentenced in November.
This Isn’t a Job for The Club: If you still think a steering wheel lock can protect your car, think again. With a new report from McAfee showing that carhacking will replace carjacking as criminals’ attack method of choice, maybe there’s a market for The Cyber Club? As demonstrated at Black Hat this year, it IS possible to gain remote access to a car by hacking its electronics system. This report shares interesting data about the link between the increasing lines of code necessary to run advanced car features, and the exponential attack vectors that this creates. Those bells and whistles may soon carry a very large price tag—and one that’s not on the sticker: theft insurance.
That’s our “back to school” recap for this week. What else would you add to the list?
