• The threat of online security: How safe is our data?

Viruses, hacker attacks and other cyber threats are now a part of daily life. Malware spreading throughout the Internet, hackers stealing confidential data and mailboxes flooded with spam are the price we pay for computing convenience. Any unprotected computer or network is vulnerable. Real vulnerable indeed.

For instance, home users can lose valuable personal data with one click to the wrong website. Children trading games also exchange viruses unknowingly. You receive an email requesting an update to your payment details, and a hacker gains access to your bank account. A backdoor is installed on your machine, and your PC becomes a zombie, spewing out spam.

On top of that, it's not just home users who suffer. For businesses of all sizes, the risks are manifold. Crucial data distorted by viruses, financial data misappropriated by cyber criminals, and mountains of spam reducing ROI on human and technological resources.

Some of the popular threats these days are crimewares, viruses, hackers, spam, spyware, and the list continues to grow larger. To start with, crimeware is malicious software used to initiate a crime that is typically Internet-based. During the past two years, crimeware attacks have increased at a far greater rate than the normal virus. International gangs of virus writers, hackers and spammers are joining forces to steal information and collect huge profits illegally. For example, a bank login ID and password may be collected and sent back to an attacker. The attacker typically will use this information in order to collect illegal profits.

The term “virus” on the other hand is often loosely used in reference to any type of malicious program, or it is used to describe any negative event that a malicious program causes to a host system. In the simplest terms, a virus is defined as program code that replicates from one host file to another.

“Hacking” a computer which is another threat is the act of exploiting vulnerable operating system functions, applications, and peripherals to gain unsolicited access to a computer or network. For example, a phisher who is also called a hacker may send an e-mail using the façade of a major bank, credit card or E-money service like PayPal. The email will not only look official, but will also have an official-looking network domain name and return address. The body will contain an innocuous message such as: "Your account information requires updating".

Spam is the equivalent of physical junk mail and unsolicited telemarketing phone calls. It has become one of the largest nuisances to computer users for both home and business users. n 2003 and 2004 spammers sent the majority of spam messages from machines belonging to unsuspecting users. Spammers use malware to install Trojans on users' machines, leaving them open to remote use. Methods used to penetrate victim machines include:

• Trojan droppers and downloaders injected into pirate software which is distributed via file sharing P2P networks (Kazaa, eDonkey etc.).
• Exploiting vulnerabilities in MS Windows and popular applications such as IE & Outlook.
• Email worms

Spware is as those that “impair users" control over material changes that affect their user experience, privacy, or system security; use of their system resources, including what programs are installed on their computers; or collection, use, and distribution of their personal or otherwise sensitive information.” “Spyware” is something of a grey area, so there’s no copy-book definition for it. However, as the name suggests, it’s often loosely defined as software that is designed to gather data from a computer and forward it to a third party without the consent or knowledge of the computer’s owner. This includes monitoring key strokes, collecting confidential information (passwords, credit card numbers, PIN numbers, etc.), harvesting e-mail addresses, or tracking browsing habits. There’s a further by-product of spyware where such activities inevitably affect network performance, slowing down the system and thereby affecting the whole business process.

Although all these seem frightening, there is a way out too. Online security is for the purpose of protecting e-commerce customers and their information by continuing to enhance e-commerce systems and processes as e-commerce transactions evolves. Because no single solution can ensure online security, a layered security approach with industry-leading solutions had been developed. Two major objectives in selecting the right electronic safeguards are:

• Protecting customers’ informations and assets.
• Minimizing customer impact while providing multiple layers of protection wherever customer transactions call for added security.

Are our data secured by just these online securities? It depends whether the consumers are aware enough about the threat they might faced if necessary steps isn’t taken to prevent them.