KEEPING HACKERS AWAY
Online banking protection is crucial as cyber thieves continually hone
their attacks. Here are some tips to protect your accounts.
QUICK. EASY. EFFICIENT. WHO DOESN'T LOVE ONLINE BANKING?
Be aware, though, of the danger online banking carries. Hackers can
access your account, drain your funds and threaten the survival of
your business. And the risk is growing. Cyber attacks increased some
24% in the first half of 2012 over the same period the previous year,
according to a new report from security firm Symantec. ÒAny time the
economy goes down, white collar crime goes up,Ó says Bill McDermott,
CEO of Atlanta-based McDermott Financial Solutions (mcdfs.com).
ÒWe're seeing an increase in corporate account takeovers. It's a huge
problem.Ó Banks commonly refuse to indemnify companies for
funds stolen from commercial accounts. ÒA lot of people have the
misunderstanding that banks offer to business accounts the protection
offered to consumers,Ó adds McDermott. ÒIn fact, banks will not hold
business account holders harmless for losses from cyber-fraud.Ó And
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if you think that fraudsters only go after big corporations, you're mistaken. ÒThere seems to be a trend toward hackers targeting smaller
businesses,Ó says Brian Krebs, a cyberfraud investigative reporter in
suburban Washington, D.C. (krebsonsecurity.com). ÒPerhaps that's
because larger businesses tend to have protective systems in place
so the bad guys have to jump through more hoops.Ó But the numbers
tell the tale. Some 36% of attacks during the first half of 2012 were
directed at businesses with 250 or fewer employees, according to
Symantec. That's a big spike from the 18% during the same period
the year before. ÒThere appears to be a direct correlation between
the rise in attacks against smaller businesses and a drop in attacks
against larger ones,Ó says Paul Wood, Symantec's cyber security
intelligence manager. ÒIt almost seems attackers are diverting their
resources directly from one group to the other.Ó
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Phillip M. Perry