Welcome to the October 2009 Cybercrime Trend Newsletter!
Every month we continue to be amazed at how rapidly cybercrime continues to grow. This month our articles focus on the many ways cybercriminals use to steal personal information, take over computers and and cause harm to society. It should be obvious to all of us that cybercrime isn't going away any time soon. It is up to each of us to protect our computers and our personal information.
Organized Cybercrime Revealed
As if CSOs don't have enough on their plates, they now need to beat back made men, capos and the other elements of the Mafia. Yes, the Mafia is formally involved in cybercrime, or so alleges the U.S. attorney for Florida, who filed charges against associates of the Bonanno crime family that included pilfering data from Lexis-Nexis.
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2009/092809-organized-cybercrime.html
Cybercriminals Use Trojans and Money Mules to Loot Online Bank Accounts
San Jose, CA, USA - September 30, 2009 - Finjan Inc., a developer in secure web gateway products and the provider of a unified web security solution for the enterprise market, today unveiled new research from its Malicious Code Research Center (MCRC), which uncovered new techniques used by cybercriminals to rob online bank accounts
http://www.contactcenterworld.com/view/contact-center-news/Cybercriminals-use-Trojans-and-Money-Mules-to-Loot-Online-Bank-Accounts.asp
Next-gen Trojan Rewrites Bank Statements
Black hat hackers have created a new strain of Trojan that rewrites online bank statements to disguise fraud.
Victims of the URLZone Trojan would only realise their bank account has been looted after they check their balance with a bank branch or via an ATM
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/10/01/next_gen_bank_trojan/
Security Expert Warns That Banking Trojans Could Be Silent Killer for Small Business
Sophisticated Cyber Attack Can be Financially Devastating For Unprotected Small Firms
Walnut Creek, CA (PRWEB) September 23, 2009 -- Think Security First, the national awareness and education program created to protect
America's small businesses from cybercrime and identity theft, today warned all small businesses to be alert to a growing and sophisticated cyber threat that could jeopardize the financial viability of businesses that fall victim.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/prweb/20090923/bs_prweb/prweb2917744_1
8 Steps to Better Online Security
Have you taken the necessary steps to protect yourself online or are you one of those people that think it won't happen to me? Securing your computer online takes a little work but it is well worth the investment of your time and money. Below I have listed some of the most important ways you can make sure that you will be protected.
1. Email is still one of the favorite ways for crooks to hack into your computer. Many Internet Providers today provide a spam blocking feature and it cost nothing to use. Turn it on and it will monitor your system and block many of the junk emails that you may receive from even getting to your Inbox.
2. Live by the rule that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Cyber criminals use phony sweepstakes, foreign lotteries, and other similar methods trying to get you to give them your personal info or send them money.
3. Monitor the online activities of your children. Parental control software is recommended and the computer they use should be checked regularly for browser and email activity.
4. Always be cautious if you are on a website that you know very little about. Be especially careful if that website ask you for any personal information such as your mailing address, social security number or your bank account number.
5. Use encryption software if you are entering data that you do not want others to see. This will garble the data to make it unreadable to anyone who might try to hack into your computer.
6. If you do any online shopping, make sure that you do it only on a secure website. If the website you go to is truly a secure website, the address will start with "https" or it will have a VeriSign or TRUSTe seal on it. If you don't see any of these, you may be at risk.
7. Make sure you have a Top Notch Firewall installed on your computer.
8. Use Corporate Grade Security Anti-Virus & Anti-Spyware
If you are serious about protecting your computer and yourself online, then you should call the person who sent this newsletter to you and ask them how they can help you acquire the kind of protection you need.
Keep an eye out for the Identity Theft Trend Newsletter October 15th...
Until then be safe out there,
