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Identity Theft Attacks Up 250 Percent
David Utter
Staff Writer
2007-01-16
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The threat to home and business computer users rose dramatically between January 2004 and May 2006, with a 250 percent rise in the number of keylogging utilities found on the Internet.
 | | Identity Theft Attacks Up 250 Percent |  |
Phishing alerts tracked by the Anti-Phishing Working Group also increased in that time, going up a hundred-fold to 17,600 for the period. A study performed by security firm McAfee recounted just what identity theft and fraud have cost:
According to the Federal Trade Commission, the annual cost for consumers and businesses in the United States alone reaches $50 billion annually. In the United Kingdom, the Home Office has calculated the cost of identity theft to the British economy at $3.2 billion during the last three years and some estimates from the Australian Centre for Policing Research place the cost of identity theft at $3 billion each year.
Identity theft has not been limited to online activity, like the case of Standard Bank in South Africa where a Trojan placed in cybercafes and on public terminals helped "an international group of cyber-criminals" steal several hundred thousand rands from customers ($1 USD = 7.25 Rands).
Criminals also go low-tech when stealing information. The time-honored practice of dumpster diving can yield plenty of information when people throw away important documents without shredding them first.
Online, thefts can happen through outright attacks. One need only recall the faulty security at CardSystems Solutions that led to the 2005 exposure of 40 million credit card records to what was reportedly another organized criminal ring to remember how scary these attacks can be.
Phishing has been popular, and growing more sophisticated. Recently it has been found that criminals are starting to create Flash-based scams that phishing toolbars will not catch because they cannot 'read' a Flash site as they can one coded in HTML.
The greatest problem presented with online security involves the savvy of the typical, non-tech oriented computer user. Technology companies have to do more than just create software to combat threats from viruses and spyware. They are up against a lack of knowledge in people who may not realize something has slipped past their defenses.
As long as people are willing to visit questionable sites, click on links in messages from untrusted senders, and buy things advertised in spam, the problem of computer security will persist. True computer security may be simply unattainable.
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Tag: Identity Theft
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About the Author:
David Utter is a business and technology writer for SecurityProNews and WebProNews.
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