ATTACKS ON THE RISE, WITH MORE MONEY AT RISK

In a new report, computer security firm Symantec says the number of Internet attacks is rising and that the motive for such attacks is increasingly money. The report is based on data gathered from 40,000 security devices from around the world and covers Internet mischief ranging from spam and adware to network attacks and phishing scams.

Although many hackers formerly plied their trade merely to demonstrate what they could do, Internet scams such as phishing are designed to put money into the hands of online thieves. Symantec noted that the tools used to launch Internet attacks are becoming very sophisticated, and the report also highlights the fact that many networks remain poorly protected despite simple means to increase security against such threats. Javier Santoyo, development manager at Symantec Security Response, said, "Just letting users know about configuration management and maybe installing heuristics-based solutions on desktops goes a long way."

Yahoo, 8 March 2006
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nf/20060308/tc_nf/41987