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

The Internet has rapidly become an important tool nowadays. Many people use the Internet daily for work or private purposes. Along with the increasing use of Internet, the threat of online security has become more serious.

Many Internet users display more of their personal information on social networking Web sites, and office workers upload more sensitive data to online software programs, it makes computer hackers devise small attacks that can fly under the radar of traditional security software to pry that information loose. As a result, the personal data of the users may be embezzled and the undisclosed financial data or proprietary design and engineering information of organizations may be stolen by hackers because those intellectual properties can be sold for a lot of money.

Even if you connected to the Internet only to play the latest games or to send email to friends and family, your computer may be a target. It is because intruders (hackers, attackers, or crackers) may be able to cause damage to your computer by reformatting your hard drive or changing your data. Intruders are always discovering new vulnerabilities to exploit in computer software. Most of the incident reports of computer break-ins received at the CERT/CC due to system administrators and users did not keep their computers up-to-date with patches and security fixes. Also, some software applications have default settings that allow other users to access your computer. For example, web browsers could allow someone to place harmful programs on your computer that run when you click on them.

In short, users should be careful when access to Internet and do not simply give away any sensitive personal information like password, account number, or other log-in information via e-mail or instant message.