Spyware Linked To Criminal Element
Posted by
SmartDownloads.net
on 2005-09-04
Spyware Linked to Crime
An Israeli Internet security company finds that about 15 percent of popular spyware programs are used for criminal
activities.
A study of the most prevalent spyware programs by Aladdin Knowledge Systems found that about 15 percent of spyware is used
for outright criminal activity.
The study also discovered the trend is growing rapidly as spyware programs steal information from targeted computers and send
them to a third party.
“This activity focuses on the targeting of documents or private information that is of value,†said Ofer Elzam, eSafe product
manager at Aladdin, in an exclusive interview with Red Herring on Wednesday.
He added that the information could be used for a wide range of criminal activities, including identity theft, extortion,
espionage, password theft, or the monitoring of instant-messaging conversations.
The study by the Tel Aviv-based Internet security company found that in recent years malicious code writers have gone from
simply causing computer damage to stealing valuable and useful information.
Increasing Threat Awareness
Aladdin has long been monitoring the growth of spyware but decided to go public for the first time with the results of its
research in order to increase awareness of the threat by enterprises and the general public.
However, many other spyware experts have long publicized that threat as well, and legislative efforts are under way in the
United States to curb the growth of spyware.
The Aladdin study found the spyware threat is also growing because malicious code infects computers via web sites and not
just through email.
“When there is an email virus out there, everyone knows about it, but the invisible threats pose a far greater threat and can
only be dealt with through greater awareness,†stressed Mr. Elzam.
A major corporate scandal erupted in Israel in June when local companies launched a massive Trojan horse attack on their
competitors. That incident led Aladdin to decide to publicize its findings about the seriousness of the threat.
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