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Tete-a-Tete with Symantec Chief
Nycil George, Oct 09, 2006 1749 hrs ISTGiven the latest Symantec Internet Threat Report, we thought the time was ripe to have a tete-a-tete with Vishal Dhupar, Managing Director, Symantec...
Interview
The latest Symantec Internet Threat Report raises the alarm for home users, indicating them as the group most targeted for identity theft, fraud, and other financially motivated crimes.
What's more, the report suggests that attackers are now resorting to escaping detection via various techniques, as also to prolonging their presence on affected systems so as to wreak further havoc on unassuming users.
Given the findings, we thought the time was ripe to have a tete-a-tete with Vishal Dhupar, Managing Director, Symantec, who was incidentally quite happy to share notes with us and our readers:
What is the reason for home users being the most targeted group?
They are the weakest link among Internet users. They are the ones who no do not focus on any major protection tools other than some basic anti virus or spyware at the most. Somehow home users tend to feel that their computers are not very vulnerable, and hence, do not use enough protection. Most of them do not even renew their subscription when the notification pops-up.
What can an attacker gain by targeting home users?
Unlike what you think, the home user segment is fertile land for attackers. Home users tend to save a lot of personal data on their computers including credit card details, addresses, personal passwords, business plans, etc. They save sensitive information without realizing that they are under as much risk as any other computer using the Internet in any part of the world. These compromised systems become soft targets, and can be attached to a Bot network.
As you implied, an anti virus or a simple spyware is not enough protection for home users. What options do they have?
I suggest an integrated solution with all the required features. Among our products, I suggest 'Norton Internet Security' which to my mind has everything needed to block attacks. It features detection and blocking of spyware/viruses/adware, automatic blocking of intruders/identity thieves, automatic filtering of spam/phising email, etc.
Related News:
Symantec Report Triggers Alarm
The latest Symantec Internet Threat Report raises the alarm for home users, indicating them as the group most targeted for identity theft, fraud, and other financially motivated crimes.
What's more, the report suggests that attackers are now resorting to escaping detection via various techniques, as also to prolonging their presence on affected systems so as to wreak further havoc on unassuming users.
Given the findings, we thought the time was ripe to have a tete-a-tete with Vishal Dhupar, Managing Director, Symantec, who was incidentally quite happy to share notes with us and our readers:
What is the reason for home users being the most targeted group?
They are the weakest link among Internet users. They are the ones who no do not focus on any major protection tools other than some basic anti virus or spyware at the most. Somehow home users tend to feel that their computers are not very vulnerable, and hence, do not use enough protection. Most of them do not even renew their subscription when the notification pops-up.
What can an attacker gain by targeting home users?
Unlike what you think, the home user segment is fertile land for attackers. Home users tend to save a lot of personal data on their computers including credit card details, addresses, personal passwords, business plans, etc. They save sensitive information without realizing that they are under as much risk as any other computer using the Internet in any part of the world. These compromised systems become soft targets, and can be attached to a Bot network.
As you implied, an anti virus or a simple spyware is not enough protection for home users. What options do they have?
I suggest an integrated solution with all the required features. Among our products, I suggest 'Norton Internet Security' which to my mind has everything needed to block attacks. It features detection and blocking of spyware/viruses/adware, automatic blocking of intruders/identity thieves, automatic filtering of spam/phising email, etc.
Related News:
Symantec Report Triggers Alarm
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Alfred M. Audet
,Bathurs, N.B. Canada, on Mar 31, 2009 05:06 PM
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