Cyber crime making inroads into home PC’s

Home PC’s and financial service firms fear greater threat from hackers, reveals the latest Internet Security Threat Report issued by the security-software maker Symantec Corp.(SYMC).

According to the report, as home-computer users are less likely to have security measures in place, they become prime targets for hackers for identity theft, fraud and other financially motivated crimes.

A hacker is a person who creates and modifies computer software and computer hardware, including computer programming, administration, and security-related items to steal confidential information.

Upgraded techniques are being used by attackers which enable them to evade detection and prolong their presence in PC’s. This allows them to pickup useful consumer data like credit card numbers, bank account numbers along with passwords to commit calculated frauds.

Outdated antivirus versions and firewall defenses provide weak links to hackers, thus, permitting them to creep into home PC’s via web browsers and other desktop applications.

Symantec, through its data collected by Global Intelligence network revealed that though the targeted attacks dropped from 93% in the second half of 2005 to 86% in the first six months of 2006, the consumers risk level showed no signs of improvement. This was basically due to upgraded and improved measures adopted by hackers.

Global Intelligence network has over 40,000 sensors monitoring network activity in about 180 countries. Over 120 million clients, server and gateway systems using Symantec antivirus products were analyzed to collect the information.

In today’s dynamic environment, software vendors and enterprises strive to adapt security best practices and defense-in-depth strategies. However, attackers too have begun to adopt state-of the art techniques of deceit such as targeting malicious code at client-side applications including Web browsers, e-mail clients, and other desktop applications.

At the end of the day, the one who will outthink the other shall come out triumphant.