Trends in Computer Security

For years there has been an ongoing debate as to which computer platform is the most secure. Whilst there is a perception amongst both PC & Mac users that Macs are safer, apparently Mac users are victims of cybercrime just as regularly as PC users.

According to security vendors, Viruses and Trojans are no longer the purview of pimple-faced nerds. Malware has become a tool of the organized crime. A lot of attacks have to do with social engineering & that kind of attack is platform agnostic. Phishing attacks are equally effective on any operating system since they rely on tricking the user. Be cautious about what information you make available on social networking portals such as Facebook. Seemingly innocuous information can be used by criminals to pretend to be you, or to try & convince you that they are legitimate.

The gateways to your organizations network, particularly the internet browser & email client are sensible areas to focus electronic protection. However, the most critical area is the level of security awareness exhibited by staff. If you haphazardly visit every link & download every file sent to you in e-mail or posted to your social-networking pages, sooner or later you’re going to be exposed. The easiest way for an attacker to compromise a system is by tricking the user to click, open, or run something they should not.