Hackers 'having a cracker' as users get slacker

2009-10-06

Online users have become slacker when it comes to protecting themselves on the internet, meaning that cybercrime in the UK is increasing, it has been suggested.

Fraudsters are now using advanced techniques but users are becoming increasingly complacent, meaning that cybercriminals are having a pretty easy ride at the current time, according to Tom Ilube, chief executive officer at online information firm Garlik.

Back in 2006 and 2007, identity theft was getting a decent amount of media coverage, Mr Ilube said, and many people took this information onboard, taking basic measures.

He explained: "Everyone got themselves a shredder and started shredding like crazy and then people thought 'I'm done now. That whole identity theft thing – I've taken care of it'."

Fraudsters, meanwhile, have been getting increasingly smarter, Mr Ilube added.

His comments come after the quarterly Anti-Phishing Working Group Phishing Activity Trends Report was released.

It revealed that the number of banking trojan/password stealing crimeware infections detected rose by over 186 per cent between the fourth quarter of 2008 and the second quarter of 2009.

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