Technology is an art that will keep on changing day in day
A world that runs (increasingly) on data flows is also one that is (increasingly) vulnerable to cyber-attacks.
Weak cyber-security can result in significant costs to business and also pose privacy, public safety, and national security risks. Globally, there are several million cyber-attacks every day, most of them automated.
Cyber-attacks can jeopardize ICT infrastructures such as data centers and networks but also the infrastructure that is managed by ICT such as airports, harbors, hospitals, power plants, smart cities, and smart grids.
McAfee has estimated that cyber-crime costs the global economy about $400 billion in annual losses, this from consumer data breaches, financial crimes, market manipulation, and theft of intellectual property.
Criminals take advantage of technology in many different ways. The Internet, in particular, is a great
Identity Theft
Becoming the victim of cyber crime can have long-lasting effects on your life. One common technique scammers employ is phishing, sending false emails purporting to come from a bank or other financial institution requesting personal information.
If you hand over this information, it can allow the criminal to access your bank and credit accounts, as well as open new accounts and destroy your credit rating. This type of damage can take months or even years to fix, so protecting your personal information online is an important skill to learn.
Security Costs
Cyber criminals also focus their attacks on businesses, both large and small. Hackers may attempt to take over company servers to steal information or use the machines for their own purposes, requiring companies to hire staff and update software to keep intruders out.
According to EWeek, a survey of large companies found an average expenditure of $8.9 million per year on
Monetary Losses
The overall monetary losses from cybercrime can be immense. According to a 2012 report by Symantec, more than 1.5 million people fall victim to some sort of cybercrime every day, ranging from simple password theft to extensive monetary swindles.
With an average loss of $197 per victim, this adds up to more than $110 billion dollars lost to cybercrime worldwide every year. As consumers get wise to traditional avenues of attack, cybercriminals have developed new techniques involving mobile devices and social networks to keep their illicit gains flowing.
Piracy
The cyber crime of piracy has had major effects on the entertainment, music and softwareindustries. Claims of damages are hard to estimate and even harder to verify, with estimates ranging widely from hundreds of millions to hundreds of billions of dollars per year.
In response, copyright holders have lobbied for stricter laws against intellectual property theft, resulting in laws like the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. These laws allow copyright holders to target file sharers and sue them for large sums of money to counteract the financial damage of their activities online.
By adopting a few basic behaviors, consumers can make big strides in mitigating cybercrime risk. Consider these behaviors to be a part of your daily routine like brushing your teeth or wearing a seat belt. Here’s how;
Avoid password promiscuity:
Protect your accounts with strong, unique passwords that use a combination of at least 10 upper and lowercase letters, symbols and numbers to help keep the bad guys at bay. Make it difficult for attackers to access your information by changing your passwords every three months and not reusing passwords for multiple accounts.
That way, if a cybercriminal gets your password, they can’t compromise all of your accounts. And if it’s too overwhelming to keep up this practice, use a password manager to help!
Don’t go on a phishing expedition:
Think twice before opening unsolicited messages or attachments, particularly from people you don’t know, or clicking on random links. The message may be from a cybercriminal who has compromised your friend or family member’s email or social media accounts.
Don’t keep a (dis)connected home:
When installing a new network-connected device, such as a router or smart thermostat, remember to change the default password. If you don’t plan on using the Internet feature(s), such as with smart appliances, disable or protect remote access when not needed. Also, protect your wireless connections with strong Wi-Fi encryption so no one can easily view the data traveling between your devices.
Be in control when online:
Entrust your devices to security software to help protect you against the latest threats. Protect all your devices with a robust, multi- platform solution, like Norton Security.
Know the ins and out of public Wi-Fi networks:
Accessing personal information on unprotected public Wi-Fi is like broadcasting your entire screen on TV – everything you do on a website or through an app, could potentially be exposed. Avoid anything that involves sharing your personal information (paying a bill online, logging in to social media accounts, paying for anything with a credit card, etc.).