Cyber Crimes on the Rise
Maker of antivirus and security software AVG has released a new report that offers valuable insight on trends in the field of cyber crimes. According to the company there has been a significant increase in the overall number of global attacks in 2011, and a marked rise in the professionalism and structure of global organized cyber crime.
This includes major growth in malicious campaigns that exploit the viral nature of Facebook, a notable increase in risk for smartphone users, and a significant increase in Blackhole Exploit Kits, which are used by criminals to coordinate attacks. Facebook is currently the internet's second most visited website, and as such it is a clear target for cyber criminals. There was a continuing increase in attacks of Facebook users using 'click-jacking' scams. Defense from these scams requires constant vigilance and profiles without suitable privacy settings are subject to exploitation by marketers or cyber criminals and could be sued for identity fraud.