Unbeknownst to most people, while they’re sound asleep, their computer could be hard at work, recruited to be a part of a so-called “botnet,” a global network of robot computers, hijacked by cybercriminals to work as part of a giant zombie network.
If you think this sounds like the plot for a new 007 movie, think again. It’s state of the art cybercrime at the dawn of the 21st century. And, despite intensified efforts of security researchers, cyber attacks are only getting more numerous and sophisticated every day.
Cybercrime has turned into a global industry, and it is expanding fast. You may not read much about it in the newspapers, but that’s only because many online scams remain undetected and unreported. By some estimates, the cost of cybercrime is now $1 trillion a year, and the number of attacks is growing by leaps and bounds.
So-called phishing emails have been a particularly successful means for scammers or malicious individuals to hook potential victims. Phishing schemes often use a combination of email and bogus web sites to trick unsuspecting computer users into giving out private information online. Phishing emails make you vulnerable to identity theft and fraudulent use of your credit card information. Of even greater concern is the fact that through the hyperlinks in phishing emails, criminals may install malware on your computer, which recruits your computer to be part of a large botnet used by cyber-intruders to pull off large-scale, globe-spanning web scams.
In some instances, as many as one million victim computers have been linked into global botnets. Once infected, the computer continues to operate as before, and the owner may never know that the computer has been compromised. Traditional anti-virus software isn’t always able to detect the infection, and hackers are becoming increasingly adept at creating malware that keeps updating itself, making it harder to detect.
The power of using multiple computers enables cybercriminals to expand the range and impact of their activities. The botnet can be used to send spam and phishing emails, scan other computers for vulnerabilities, remotely monitor users’ online activity, and collect credit card information, passwords, and other sensitive date entered during online transactions. In one instance, a cybergang managed to hijack computers to siphon off and redirect the details of 25 million U.S. credit card transactions to Ukraine. The credit card information was then used to buy a large number of goods, which were later sold on eBay.
While the use of botnets is on the rise, few people are unaware of the severity of the current risks, particularly as criminals get increasingly savvy at finding new ways to access computer systems.
How can you minimize your chances of falling victim to cybercrime? The following commonly recommended precautions are no longer optional, they should be mandatory for any computer user:
- Make sure your antivirus software and personal firewall software is always up to date.
- If you are a Windows User, make sure your Windows Security Center is set for automatic updates. Some malware will turn the Automatic Update function off, so if your computer alerts you to that a part of the Windows Security Center is turned off each time you reboot your computer, chances are you’re infected.
- Use a spam filter to filter out unsolicited mail, and never click on a link or open an attachment in an email message from someone you don’t know.
In addition, learn how to protect yourself from phishing attacks, one of the most common ways that computers get infected. For more information, read the article below.
