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Making Sense of Internet Security
Nycil George, Jul 25, 2006 1709 hrs ISTTechtree spoke to Surendra Singh, Head - South East Asia and India, Websense, to get a lowdown on where we stand in terms of the Internet and the risks associated with it.
Interview with Surendra Singh
Techtree spoke to Surendra Singh, Head - South East Asia and India, Websense, to get a lowdown on exactly where we stand in terms of the Internet, the risks associated with it, the level of awareness, and ways to protect ourselves against these risks.
What is the aim of Websense Security Labs?
Websense Security Labs is the investigative arm of Websense. We use various technologies to keep track of malicious Web sites. We do touch the lives of end-users through our tie-ups with various Internet service Providers (ISPs) to protect customers from threats. The biggest challenge facing us is creating awareness amongst Internet users, and giving them tools to protect themselves.
What is the general trend in Internet threats?
Today's threats are more in the nature of organized crime. The motive is essentially financial. Internet provides a huge opportunity to these guys who know how to exploit it to their advantage. For instance, Phishing is growing enormously.
What needs to be done to create awareness amongst people?
Clearly, awareness of high-risk Internet threats such as spyware, Web-based viruses, and Phishing scams is relatively low in our country. We feel it should be a joint effort from ISPs, companies, and researchers like us. We intend to conduct some fruitful awareness programs towards achieving this objective.
List the top ten countries hosting Phishing sites?
United States of America, Republic of Korea, China, Germany, United Kingdom, Japan, Taiwan, Romania, France, and Canada are the top ten countries according to records so far.
It is learnt that criminals adapt to changing conditions by creating new threats that capitalize on inherent vulnerabilities. How can this be regulated?
This is specialised stuff that needs grass root level protection. We need to be aware of the risks. Websense is hopeful that in another one or two years, India will see completely protected Internet usage.
What best practices would you recommend to users as safeguards against Internet attacks?
The golden rule is not to click on unknown links that come as email attachments. Attachments without the right headers are dreadful, and can succeed in wiping out your entire data. In case of known email headers, users can try replying to them to check whether they are genuine or not. As far as unknown mail headers go, it is best not to reply to them.
Techtree spoke to Surendra Singh, Head - South East Asia and India, Websense, to get a lowdown on exactly where we stand in terms of the Internet, the risks associated with it, the level of awareness, and ways to protect ourselves against these risks.
What is the aim of Websense Security Labs?
Websense Security Labs is the investigative arm of Websense. We use various technologies to keep track of malicious Web sites. We do touch the lives of end-users through our tie-ups with various Internet service Providers (ISPs) to protect customers from threats. The biggest challenge facing us is creating awareness amongst Internet users, and giving them tools to protect themselves.
What is the general trend in Internet threats?
Today's threats are more in the nature of organized crime. The motive is essentially financial. Internet provides a huge opportunity to these guys who know how to exploit it to their advantage. For instance, Phishing is growing enormously.
What needs to be done to create awareness amongst people?
Clearly, awareness of high-risk Internet threats such as spyware, Web-based viruses, and Phishing scams is relatively low in our country. We feel it should be a joint effort from ISPs, companies, and researchers like us. We intend to conduct some fruitful awareness programs towards achieving this objective.
List the top ten countries hosting Phishing sites?
United States of America, Republic of Korea, China, Germany, United Kingdom, Japan, Taiwan, Romania, France, and Canada are the top ten countries according to records so far.
It is learnt that criminals adapt to changing conditions by creating new threats that capitalize on inherent vulnerabilities. How can this be regulated?
This is specialised stuff that needs grass root level protection. We need to be aware of the risks. Websense is hopeful that in another one or two years, India will see completely protected Internet usage.
What best practices would you recommend to users as safeguards against Internet attacks?
The golden rule is not to click on unknown links that come as email attachments. Attachments without the right headers are dreadful, and can succeed in wiping out your entire data. In case of known email headers, users can try replying to them to check whether they are genuine or not. As far as unknown mail headers go, it is best not to reply to them.
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(5) Comments
G.G.Barve
,Mumbai, on Jul 28, 2006 06:53 AM
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Lalith
,Delhi, on Jul 25, 2006 09:30 PM
Anonymous
,Mumbai, on Jul 26, 2006 05:53 PM
G.G.Barve
,Mumbai, on Jul 26, 2006 06:30 AM
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