October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month. You can learn more about cyber security from the National Cyber Security Alliance, a public/private organization that brings together the minds and resources of companies like Symantec and Microsoft along with government agencies such as the Department of Homeland Security. Their website at http://www.staysafeonline.org/ has a deep and wide array of resources for individuals and organizations to up their safety education. One of my favorites is their lesson plans for teachers that help incorporate important online safety lessons into their curriculum. And these lesson plans are FREE! Here is a link.

 

Also part of the October festivities and something for every parent to participate in is the Norton Cyber Safe Challenge. Just by signing up at onlinefamily.norton.com/contest, every U.S. school can enter to win cash prizes of up to $20,000! We've already got several hundred schools entered, but there are thousands of schools out there that still haven't gotten on board. It's easy to enter and FREE! Here is a link.

 

Core to the understanding of the risks of our world of computing is the ease with which our databases of private and financially valuable information can leak out into the black market of cybercrime. The full identity of any one individual which can be used to apply for new credit cards or even home loans can be a door to hundreds of thousands of dollars of credit. But the volume of stolen and lost private data is so huge that using basics of supply and demand, that full identity may sell for less than $5.00 to a crook. The Identity Theft Resource Center organization publishes a regular report on data breaches, which you can read here. Right now the state notification laws for consumers whose data has been part of a data breach vary greatly. I expect to see Congressional efforts to provide some federal standards on data breach notification, which will be a win for each of us.

 

I've talked before about the incredible and nearly silent growth in cybercrime. I get very frustrated when I try to get consumer attention to this subject and the general media feels they've either covered it or it's not a "visual" enough story. Yet, this form of crime impacts almost everyone who uses online banking, online shopping, or visits websites where malware might get onto their computer. Even the relatively conservative magazine Consumer Reports says that one in five online shoppers will be a victim of cybercrime. Our own Internet Security Threat Report indicates an online crime (such as a virus, keystroke logger, bot, or phishing attack) occurs 4 times a second! Consumers often can't tell when the original crime occurred because months might go by between the time your computer was infected or your data stolen and the time you notice strange credit card charges or money stolen from your bank account. If any of this is surprising to you, I suggest you visit our new website highlighting the quiet and pernicious world of the underground black market at http://www.everyclickmatters.com/.

 

This morning, as result of the reporting of numerous Google, AOL and Hotmail email accounts being hacked and their passwords posted online, CNN did a good job covering the cybercrime issue and provided some basic tips to consumers. Take a look. Tell a friend. Here is a link.