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29 March 2024

Cyberworld abounds with bad elves: Norton

Carbanak also remotely seized control of ATMs and ordered them to dispense cash at a predetermined time. (AFP)

Published
By Staff

As last-minute shoppers hit the Internet in force, a new study commissioned by Norton not only shows that the holiday season elevates the amount of transactions people conduct online, but many consumers are not taking even the simplest steps to protect themselves – and their finances – from the bite of cybercrime.

The study also revealed that more than half of people under the age of 35 are dangerously updating their social networking status with real-time references to their whereabouts – whether it be at a holiday party or shopping for Christmas gifts at the mall.

Tamim Taufiq, Head of Consumer Sales, MENA for Symantec, said: “E-commerce is growing in popularity here in the UAE with portals such as Souq.com, operating in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan as well as headquarters in the UAE that are catering to a considerable 1.5 million users every month.

“Thus as the online retail market matures in the region, it is first and foremost in the mind when engineering Norton consumer security solutions that this kind of growth must come hand in hand with education of the ever expanding cyber-criminal network as more and more home users turn to the Internet for shopping services.”

While the study, sponsored by Norton and conducted by Javelin Strategy & Research, surveyed more than 1,000 Internet users in the US, the survey revealed that despite repeated warnings about Internet threats, consumers around the world are still somewhat cavalier and under-informed when it comes to Internet security, specifically in three areas: location-based services, mobile phone transactions, and online passwords.

During the holiday period, nearly half of the consumer respondents (47 per cent) said they expected their online purchases to increase, with 14 per cent saying that their transaction level would double or more than double.

Another third of the respondents between the ages of 18-34 (31 per cent) said they expected their social networking activity to increase over the holidays.

“We’re seeing huge gains in people shopping and banking online, especially around the holidays,” said personal finance expert Jean Chatzky, who collaborated with Norton on the development and analysis of the study. “The survey shows that people are still unaware of how their online activity can pose a ‘real world’ threat to their finances. It's like an invitation to cyber-criminals.”
 
Some of the risky Internet activity that the survey uncovered:

Inviting Cyber-criminals to Crash Your Party

As people are heading to parties, going to visit family and friends around the region, or hitting the malls this holiday season, “geo-location” (telling people where you are via your mobile phone or social network) is a potentially risky activity, yet a scant 15 per cent of people surveyed knew enough about geo-location to be able to explain it. This suggests that mobile Internet users may be engaging unknowingly in risky online behaviour.

Nearly one quarter of the respondents (22 per cent) who use their mobile or smartphones to connect to the Internet, admitted to giving applications on those devices permission to identify their location. In addition, 56 per cent of people surveyed under the age of 35 said they update their social networking status with their location, which can inadvertently broadcast to real-world criminals that they’re not at home.

“Giving away your location is a potential ‘gateway’ that people should be aware of and think about,” said Chatzky. “The only people who need to know that you’re out-of-town, or not where you usually are, are your family, close friends and maybe a trusted neighbour. Technology is changing so fast, that many people may not even be aware of the various ways they’re opening themselves up to potential financial losses.”

“Not-So-Smart” Phone Usage

Mobile security is an issue that consumers admit they take for granted. Nearly 4 in 10 (38 per cent) consumers who access the Internet via their mobile or smartphone do so to check their bank account and make online purchases, and more than half (51 per cent) are using their Internet-connected devices to check or make updates on social networking sites.

Despite the prevalence of mobile Internet activity, one in four people accessing the Internet this way aren’t sure, or haven’t even thought about, what’s safe mobile practice, while another 42 per cent have only a “general idea” of what constitutes safe practices. In addition, 52 per cent of those people accessing the Internet via their mobile devices don’t use the basic level of protection of having an access password in place on those devices.

“There are so many simple steps people can take online to protect themselves from identity theft, credit card loss and real world threats, and still stay connected,” said Taufiq. “As the Internet becomes an even bigger part of our daily lives, we hope people will start taking Internet security more seriously than they are today. Unfortunately, that's not what we're seeing in the data.”

Password Problems

Since online shopping accounts are generally tied to e-mail accounts, a cybercrook’s ability to access an e-mail account could be a gateway to accessing credit card and bank account information. Additionally, cybercrooks can hack into social networking accounts, impersonating people’s friends, and conning them into sending money to the crook’s account. Despite this, consumers are still participating in some risky behaviour when it comes to online password protection:

- Nearly half (46%) of the people surveyed admitted that they never change their password on their e-mail accounts

- About a third (31%) never change their password on banking and financial accounts

- Forty-two percent never change their password on social networking sites

- Seventy-one percent of respondents who have one password across different accounts/sites claim to do so, “because it’s easier to remember”
“Strong, frequently updated passwords are an easy way of protecting yourself and your finances from cyber-crime,” said Taufiq. “Using the same passwords on all your accounts or site – as we now know too many people do – opens yourself up to potential hackers in a way that's easy to avoid."

Holiday Tips before Plugging In

Protect your mobile phones – As people increasingly store and access financial information on their mobile devices, they should also be using password protection, but for those who don’t, tools like the new Norton Mobile Security beta application allow Android smartphone carriers to remotely lock or wipe data from their phones if they are ever lost.

Before you “plug in,” think about who you could “let in”- It’s fine if you need to connect to the Internet on the go; however, always assume your Wi-Fi connections could be being eavesdropped on. Never enter sensitive data (bank account information, debit card or social security numbers, etc.) when browsing the Web via a public Wi-Fi network.

Norton DNS, a free tool that can be downloaded onto most computers and smartphones, does a quick check on each site to make sure that it isn't a bad site that’s phishing for your personal info.

Make a list, check it twice! Credit card fraud isn’t so nice – Use one specific credit card for all your online shopping. This will limit your liability if a cybercrook steals your credit card number.