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Is Lightning Scarier Than Hackers?
Jeremy L. Muncy
Staff Writer
2004-10-04
 Insider Reports RSS Feed
According to a poll performed by the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) Americans fear lightning more than being hijacked by hackers.
The NCSA even noted that the odds of being hit by lightning are roughly one in 294 million; with only 0.0000102 percent of the population being killed by lightning strikes each year. On the other hand, there is a 7 in 10 chance of falling victim to a cyber security or privacy incident, with a full 70% of population affected each year.
"Today, more than 185 million Americans own computers connected to the internet -- cyber security should become second nature, just like brushing our teeth," said Ken Watson, chairman, National Cyber Security Alliance. "Industry projections note that by year-end, internet users will have been confronted by an estimated 100,000 forms of malicious code. About 91 percent of PCs today are infected with spyware programs that send information from your PC to an unauthorized third party."
Famous Con Man Joins Fight Against Cyber Crime. Frank Abagnale, whose life was portrayed in the movie Catch Me if You Can, has joined the fight against cyber crime as a spokesman for an NCSA campaign.
Currently Abagnale is one of America's most respected fraud prevention experts; he is also an authority on forgery, secure documents and embezzlement. Abagnale haswarned that many fraud, identity theft and illegal entry tactics have found new homes online.
NCSA chairman Ken Watson said the group looks forward to working with Abagnale to reach out to computer users.
Spammer Uses The Holocaust To Boost Credibility. At least 75,000 inboxes have been over run with an email scam that offers recipients a share of $35 million from a World War II Holocaust victim's bank account.
In what appears to be a variation of the ever popular Nigerian email scam, this scam uses real organizations to sound credible. The "author" of the email, Ronald Lauder, said he was a member of the Independent Committee of Eminent Persons (ICEP). Further into the email "Lauder" explains that the victim left no will or relatives so by Swiss law, it was possible to claim the money.
The email stated: "I discovered a dormant account of ORDNER ADELE with a credit balance of 35,000,000 US dollar plus accumulated interest. The beneficiary was murdered during the holocaust era, leaving no WILL and no possible records for trace of heirs… Being a top executive at ICEP, I have all secret details and necessary contacts for claim of the funds without any hitch. Due to the sensitive nature of my job, I need a foreigner to HELP claim the funds…Kindly provide me with your full name, address, and telephone/fax. I will pay all required fees to ensure that the fund is transferred to a secure, numbered account in your name in the Cayman Island, of which you will be capable of accessing the funds gradually and transferring to your country and other banks of choice in the world. My share will be 60 percent and your share is 40 percent of the total amount. THERE IS NO RISK INVOLVED."
"Thievery is bad enough, but doing it under the cloak of helping Holocaust victims, I really don't have the words for," said Richard Starnes, president of the Information Systems Security Association UK. "They are using apparently legitimate companies to add credence to their deceit."
Microsoft Will Offer Anti-Spyware. Microsoft will offer software to help detect malicious applications and that the company will keep it up-to-date on an ongoing basis.
"This malware thing is so bad," Bill Gates said in a speech at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View Ca. "Now that's the one that has us really needing to jump in."
This problem has even affect Gates personally. "I have had malware, (adware), that crap" on some home machines, he said.
He did not say when the software would be available or whether Microsoft would charge for it.
About the Author:
Jeremy Muncy is the editor of http://www.SecurityProNews.com.
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