Symantec Cautions against Rising Sophistication Level of Security Threats

Dean Turner, Security Intelligence Chief, Symantec, says that the stealing of secret information on the web has become more advanced and tricky to scrutinize as it can attack authentic sites, as reported by EurActiv on May 25, 2009.

Turner also adds that the web is rapidly transforming and bringing with itself a sequence of new dangers. The most general kind of Internet fraud - phishing, which draws Internet users to bogus sites imitating the websites of authentic firms, is gradually becoming outdated.

Some security experts have said that criminals are excessively attacking reputed or legitimate websites. Attackers can distort applications or parts of completely authentic sites and the confidential information of users can simply be assembled by clicking on the link on an authentic website.

Turner also reveals that dangers are unseen as they hidden in the backdrop. A user's system is linked to another site, generally situated in foreign country, which leaves trojans in the computer. They steal information and transfer it to other systems. Data are generally accumulated in servers hosted outside and then sold it in the black market.

Security experts inform that the confidential information like passwords, user names and security codes captured by a Trojan horse can simply be used to pilfer money or sell it (data) to another potential hacker.

Turner also reveals that the security threats have witnessed tremendous growth. Almost 1.6 Million new harmful threats were recorded during 2008, an increase of 165%.

The security experts also comment that a safe method of avoiding fraud linked to e-banking and the utilization of credit/debit cards on the Internet is to change passwords regularly. Therefore, it is better to employ codes that can be triggered by mouse instead of typing them in browser.

Purchasing online is a dangerous task from even safer sites. Turner cautioned that if there is any kind of malware in the system, it can be a trouble. He agreed that credit cards are the simplest target for hackers as compared with more safe web-based methods of payment such as PayPal.

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