By Blake Bronstad
Commerce in today’s world pushes convenience like never before. With more and more businesses encouraging the use of their services online, consumers are offered increasingly attractive options in which they may stay productive on the Internet. Where the people go, so does the money; and where the money goes, criminals will follow. Just as the online community is growing and evolving, so is the world of cybercrime.
Cybercriminals are sharpening their tools and improving their methods, and the proof is out there. Last year’s breach of Sony’s Playstation Network brought the issue to
headlines around the world. The more recent hacking of online shoe retailer, Zappos proved to be yet another example of why online consumers need to protect themselves and stay alert. The retail giant had to alert its nearly 24 million customers of a data breach that exposed various personal details related to their online accounts. This data ranged from names, email address, and billing addresses to the last four digits of customers’ credit cards.
So, why do criminals want this information and what do they do with it? The answer is simple: the underground network of data mining works similar to that of the advertising and data mining companies, except they run on a more malicious, less legal level. Rather than tracking your online whereabouts and selling that information to ad companies, these cybercriminals are going straight for the vitals. Names, email addresses, physical addresses, credit card numbers, and so on are mined through various techniques and sold to the highest bidder. In the case of Zappos’ customers, the hackers that infiltrated their data likely sold it to spammers, botnet operators, and identity thieves and other organized underground networks. Each one of these crime rings is capable of making that stolen data even more profitable than those before them.
By now, it should be obvious why so many people are after your data: there’s lots of money to be made and spread throughout the rings. There is an equally daunting amount of methodology and technology that goes along with this need for harvesting data. Phishing is a common technique employed by identity thieves because it allows them to simply ask you for your private information directly. This may sound absurd, but phishing scams are becoming all the more elaborate with each passing year. Cyber criminals have nearly perfected the art of impersonating websites that you trust and doing everything from sending fake emails to creating rogue, but identical web pages. Fabricated forms request that you fill out what you believe to be a legitimate corporate request, instead you’re essentially handing phishers your personal data first hand. Once they have the information, they can choose to sell it or steal your identity. It happens every day, and phishers will succeed in accessing bank accounts and making fraudulent purchases on behalf of countless phishing victims.
In addition to phishing scams, hackers have developed more elaborate ways to use and abuse you. Malware, or malicious software, can be downloaded to your computer or smartphone without your knowledge. This software can be dropped on your machine when you visit an infected web page, and does not require you to click on anything. Some of the more dangerous types of Malware can install keystroke-tracking software on your machine that records each stroke of the keyboard and tell hackers anything you’ve entered (think bank account passwords, usernames, social security numbers, etc.). Botnet operators can install malware to a victim’s computer and use it to spread spam, malware, and more.
With each new convenience, comes a new scam. This is exactly why more people are finding it necessary to protects themselves online just as they’d cover their PIN while using a cash machine or lock their homes when they go to work. Using Cocoon can instantly hinder many of the aforementioned attempts on your identity and data. Cocoon Mailslots is an easy way to make sure that hackers do not gain access to your real email address, which in turn can save you from spam and many potential phishing campaign attempts. Browsing the Internet through Cocoon’s secure proxy servers will keep any unwanted malware from attaching itself to your system, which may save you from having your identity stolen or worse.
You’re walking down a dangerous street; why not make yourself invisible to thieves?
