Activate Email 
INDUSTRIES
August 05, 2008
Increasing Online Threats Lead Consumers to Spend $8.5 Billion
By Michael Dinan, TMCnet Editor
An IT business magazine is reporting today that online threats have cost consumers about 2.1 million computers – or the equivalent of about $8.5 billion – in the last two years.
According to InformationWeek writer Thomas Claburn, viruses, spyware and phishing attacks have led to the increased consumer spending. The findings were reported in Consumer Reports’ September issue as part of its “State of the Net Survey” – a study based on data from more than 2,000 online households.
“Among other notable data points: consumers have a 1 in 6 chance of being victimized by cybercrime,” Claburn writes, “down from a 1 in 4 chance in 2007; 19 percent of respondents said they didn’t have anti-virus software on their computer; and 75 percent of respondents said they didn’t have an anti-phishing toolbar.”
Industry insiders appear to agree on the increasing likelihood that a computer will be attacked.
According to TMCnet Contributing Editor Calvin Azuri, a private Internet monitoring company is reortin gthis week that it’s detected an 80 percent increase in the number of new targets of phishing attacks in the first half of 2008, as compared to the latter half of 2007.
Cyveillance officials say their company uses bots and other tools to crawl through the Internet to identify cases of phishing attacks, identity theft, information leaks, IP infringement and other such online crimes. They say they’ve collected information from more than 200 million unique domain name servers, 150 million unique Web sites, 80 million blogs, 90 thousand message boards, thousands of IRC/Chat channels, billions of spam emails, auction sites and bot networks.
That company’s report says that 367 unique new brands were phished during the first half of 2008, with the total number of attacks detected against unique targets since 2005. The findings show that financial institutions were among the most likely to be phished, with more than 95 percent of the attacks being directed against them. The report notes that phishers continue to expand attacks worldwide, with a large number of attacks involving new targets being carried out against brands located in the Middle East and Latin America, officials say.
According to Claburn, Consumer Reports lists what it sees as the seven most common online blunders, which include: failing to keep anti-virus software up-to-date; clicking on e-mail links to access financial Web sites; using a single password for all online accounts; downloading free software; assuming that Macs are safer than Windows PCs; clicking on “scareware” pop-up ads that claim your computer is at risk; and shopping online without taking extra precautions.
“Consumer Reports’ issue with Macs is that Mac users fall for phishing scams at about the same rate as PC users, yet fewer of them use anti-phishing toolbars than PC users,” according to Claburn. “Because Apple’s (News - Alert) Safari Web browser does not have built-in phishing protection, Consumer Reports recommends using the most recent versions of Firefox or Opera instead of Safari, as well as trying a free anti-phishing toolbar like McAfee (News - Alert) Site Advisor or FirePhish.”
Michael Dinan is a TMCNet Editor. To read more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.
Don’t forget to check out TMCnet’s White Paper Library, which provides a selection of in-depth information on relevant topics affecting the IP Communications industry. The library offers white papers, case studies and other documents which are free to registered users. Today’s featured white paper is The Compelling ROI Benefits of Contact Center Quality and Performance Management Technologies, brought to you by Voice Print International (News - Alert).
