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SPECIAL REPORT | Cyber Crime

Playing it

Urban Schrott, Global IT Security and Cybercrime Analyst, ESET Ireland.

CYBERCRIME IS NO LONGER the domain

of nerdy teenagers writing scripts to amuse themselves, but a well financed and highly organised criminal enterprise that has access to top technology and knowhow. Happily operating in the grey zone of undefined cyber- legislation, cybercriminals have a clear goal to extract as much money as possible, in any way possible, from any possible victims – home users, businesses, government organisations, the list is endless. Practically every aspect of computer activity has already been targeted, as compared to regular crime, cybercrime is much harder to trace and prosecute. Total losses to cybercrime are measured in billions of dollars globally, Ireland being no exception, with over €100 million lost in the last 10 years on banking and credit card fraud alone (according to the IPSO), while data loss, online phishing scams and other damages have yet to be properly evaluated. While security software is a must for all businesses, it is also important to remember that businesses are run by people and, therefore, the onus is on the business owner to ensure that employees are aware of potential threats and how to prevent them.

CRIME DOESN’T PAY?

Cybercriminals use a variety of techniques to probe for vulnerabilities which would enable them to gain an advantage in infiltrating your

64 InBusiness May 10

SAFE

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URBAN SCHROTT, Global IT Security and Cybercrime Analyst with ESET Ireland, tells us why it’s always better to be safe than sorry when it comes to protecting your

business from cybercriminals.

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urbAn’s top 10 tips

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1. Be informed. Irish Facebook users can become fans of ESET Ireland’s page and receive regular updates about current threats there.

2. In Windows OS, turn the autorun feature off (autorun is abused by the majority of Trojan horses).

3. Update your Windows operating system and regularly apply security patches.

4. The Administrator account is intended for specifical tasks, not for everyday work. Create and use another account for everyday tasks and surfing the web.

5. Do not use the same password for everything and change them often to prevent unauthorised access.

6. When transfering confidential data, make sure all removable media (USB keys, CDs, DVDs) are password protected. Even better if data is kept encrypted.

7. Avoid using free public Wi-Fi for sensitive activities (internet banking, etc) as someone could be “listening in” and particularly avoid sending any confidential company data over Wi-Fi.

8. Backup your data regularly - at least once a week.

9. Do not click on everything (links in emails, tweets, attached files) and confirm with people if they intended to send you something.

10. Ignore various “business offers” from unknown sources that promise financial gain. Follow a simple rule that if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.

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system. Many social engineering techniques are used to fool people into revealing their usernames and passwords, banking/credit card details or other sensitive information, or make them unknowingly install and spread malware. Websites can be injected with auto-infecting malware or malware can be circulated with spam emails.

A business does not only stand a chance of

being directly attacked for data theft or financial fraud, its computer network could also be unknowingly used to propagate spam or launch attacks on other companies, infecting thousands of computers at a time. Once a computer is infected it could end up involuntarily connected into a huge botnet, which can harvest private and confidential data, from passwords and credit card numbers to addresses, telephone numbers and other personal information, a virtual treasure chest for cybercriminals.

SPEAKING VOLUMES

The biggest challenge for the antivirus industry is keeping up with the immense volumes of malware produced. Years ago we encountered only a few new viruses every week. A year ago it was 25,000 per day, now we’re already seeing a staggering 200,000 unique samples every day! In January 2007 some 5 million unique malware samples were documented; in January 2010, there are already over 30 million. Cybercriminals are counting on overwhelming numbers to drown defences in attacks, as all it takes is one to get through the defences, infect a computer and start doing its dirty work. Imagine the strain on virus definitions updates for antivirus software when it has to keep up with such numbers. ESET has been pioneering advanced heuristics in addition to virus definitions updates, and is currently the world leader in behavioural detection, which recognises malware by what it does rather than how it looks. That has enabled it to keep the software small, light and fast, while achieving top detection rates in the industry.

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