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| Posted: July 16, 2009 |
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On the Fourth of July, cyber attacks started targeting computers at the White House, the Pentagon and other major U.S. government agencies. The New York Stock Exchange and the South Korean government were also targets. Who and what are behind the attacks? Two experts take your questions. |
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| William of Richmond, Calif., asks: |
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| There doesn't seem to be a real answer to the ease and low-cost of deploying malware, viruses, etc. Government security aside, is it sensible to expose one's personal financial to the Internet through online banking and brokerage? |
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| Randy Sabett responds: |
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 To me, this is a risk-tolerance issue. You need to accept the fact that putting one's financial information online will never be completely risk-free. If certain security precautions are taken, however, the convenience and ease of online financial services may be worth the risk. This is an individual decision that will be based on many factors, some of which include (a) how comfortable a person is with technology generally, (b) what security software they are running, (c) how much they trust the security of their financial institution and (d) what transactions they are willing to conduct online. For example, think about a highly tech-savvy person that has a well-protected home network with several security mechanisms and has established bi-directional authentication with their financial institution (i.e., both the person and their bank have a high degree of assurance that they are each dealing with the legitimate entity at the other end). That person might be willing to conduct transactions worth hundreds or even many thousands of dollars. On the other hand, a less technically proficient person that has little protection might not want to conduct such transactions. Instead, that person should learn more and get better protected.
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| Rod Beckstrom responds: |
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 The threats from malware, viruses and other Internet-based attacks can be daunting. It is burdensome to effectively defend one's data against theft, particularly for users with limited time and resources. However, online banking and commerce are becoming an unavoidable part of normal business. Use of best practices for securing personal internet use can mitigate the risks significantly. Unfortunately financial account data and identity information is often stolen directly from the databases maintained by banks, commerce sites or government organizations regardless of the care taken by individual users. There are inherent risks in doing financial transaction in both the real world and on the Internet. Simple things you can do to help avoid fraud include not going to bank sites by clicking on an email link but rather by typing in a known address, checking that the site shows a padlock in the browser and importantly: If you have any suspicion about the site you are visiting, contact your bank. You can also ask your bank about the availability of more advanced authentication mechanisms such as physical tokens for two-factor authentication.
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