|
CMO Council Analyzes Data on Cyber Crime
(Wireless News Via Acquire Media NewsEdge)
Nearly 60 percent of people who reported being victims of cyber crime
experienced malware and "malicious intent" -- either phishing attempts,
fraud, ID theft, spam or a computer intrusion -- according to an
analysis of data collected from the "Take a Byte Out of Cyber Crime"
campaign, which was initiated by the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO)
Council and its public sector partners.
Disturbingly, according to the report, 28 percent of people reporting
cyber crimes indicated that they were victims of online fraud -- with
nearly half of those complainants being aged 60 or over. As a result,
the CMO Council has launched a new initiative with AVG Technologies --
called Slam the Online Holiday Scam -- to give away security software
for use during the holiday season to identify fraudulent eCards and
eGreetings that contain malware or send recipients to bogus or
contaminated Internet sites to collect personal identity information.
According to cyber crime analytics, harassment was the second most
prevalent form of online threats and digital intrusion. More than 40
percent of the complaints were from people who indicated they were
victims of either cyber-bullying (defined as the repeated hurtful or
damaging remarks posted on online forums or messages sent
electronically) or cyber-stalking (which refers to the use of the
Internet, e-mail or other electronic communications to surreptitiously
follow or haunt a person).
The Take a Byte Out of Cyber Crime program (www.bytecrime.org) is an
ongoing public service campaign sponsored by the Chief Marketing
Officer (CMO) Council in association with public- and private-sector
partners. The campaign website collects information on computer
security breaches logged by visitors to the Bytecrime.org Cyber Crime
Center and provides free, downloadable content for adults and children,
entitled Mind What You Do Online.
"It's alarming to find that more than half of the people who reported
cyber crime experienced fraud or harassment -- and that many of those
victims were senior citizens," said Donovan Neale-May, executive
director of the CMO Council. "What's more, it's distressing to see the
growing incidence of cyber crimes taking place in social network
environments and through instant messaging.
"Our analysis reinforces the fact that computer users must be even more
vigilant -- especially in increasingly popular cyber contexts like
social media -- if they're to protect themselves from onerous cyber
attacks," Neale-May added.
((Comments on this story may be sent to newsdesk@closeupmedia.com))
((Distributed on behalf of 10Meters via M2 Communications Ltd -
http://www.m2.com))
((10Meters - http://www.10meters.com))
Copyright ? 2008 Wireless News
[ Back To AstriCon's Homepage ]
|
SUBSCRIPTIONS
TMCnet LOGIN
WEBINARS
Facebook 
