White collar hackers
According to IT company Corsaire's Martin O'Neal, the economic downturn has created a market for criminals operating online
As the global recession starts to intensify, especially in the United Kingdom, many companies are reporting an increase of attacks aimed at their online presence.
According to Mr O'Neil: "With so many losing their jobs, and the ease and availability of tools and information relating to hacking, many are making the transition from white-collared workers to hackers".
Attacks against retailers, and companies, on the Internet are not new. Attackers have been exploiting vulnerabilities, and weaknesses, within online web applications for years now. The difference right now, is that it is no longer the realm of career criminals who are doing the attacking, but average everyday people.
One of the downsides of the Internet, is the availability of information regarding how to exploit these vulnerabilities. Years ago it was more akin to a dark art form. Running the tools and hacking into sites wasn't exactly point and click, however, today it is much easier to break into a web site and steal information. The amount of experience required is considerably less and this is what is attractive to out of work citizens.
Phishing attempts, often sent out using e-mail, are being fine-tuned to target individuals. Often they relate to the person in a manner in which they would click the link, such as a job offer or details of a recent redundancy. It's techniques like these that are causing many to fall victim of fraud.
Web sites often deploy security mechanisms to ensure your account information is kept as safe as possible. The problem is occurring when these same security mechanisms, such as multiple questions and answers to change your password etc, are defeated by online social networking sites, such as Facebook.
In order to gain access to someone else's account, often the attacker has to pretend to be them. If you wanted to change your password, often you are required to give a piece of information that only you might know, such as your place of birth or favorite sport. With social networking sites, this information is readily available to anyone, so
