The Shocking Truth about Cyber Security

You had better believe that there is someone out there dreaming of finding the chink in your cyber armor. A quick look at the FBI Cyber Crime page should give you an idea of some of the kinds of threats available. Cyber crimes are likely to continue on the rise as hot shot hackers think of new ways to make a fast buck.

Some of the risks highlighted by FBI efforts include, internet auctions, online gambling, online rental ads, peer-to-peer networks, social networking, wi-fi connections and work-at-home offers. If you don't think any of these will touch your operation, think again. All it takes is one employee accessing one of these pirate hideouts to bring malware to your network.

Last year's Cisco annual security report pointed out that cyber criminals are starting to move away from threats to Windows-based systems and are starting to concentrate more on other platforms "...including smart phones, tablet computers and mobile platforms." When one lucrative opportunity dries up, you can be sure they'll look for others. Of course, this doesn't mean Windows systems are off the hook. Even though Windows is losing dominance in recent years it still claims the lion's share of cyber space. That means more opportunities for cyber pirates.

Recently in the news, cyber-criminals have increased their targeting of tour operators, resorts and hotels to glean their systems of guest data. One report mentioned that 38% of the 2010 worldwide data hacks concerned companies in the hospitality industry. One global insurance company, Willis Group Holdings, based in UK, reported that claims for "cyber-attacks on its clients jumped a whopping 56 percent last year," according to a recent Consumer Reports article.

Last year, hackers also attacked video game industry giant, Electronic Arts, possibly making off with customer birthdates, email addresses, phone numbers and even mailing addresses.

Remember, you don't have to be a Fortune 500 company to fall prey to cyber pirates. They pick on individual consumers all the way up to corporate giants. It's only a matter of time before the cyber pirates turn their eyes upon your industry with greedy intent.

Perhaps the single best thing you can do is to involve all of your employees on information security awareness training. Make sure they know what to do, what not to do and how to recognize dangers when they encounter them. Such corporate training can be inexpensive, fast, easy and non-disruptive, because of online training courses. It's a natural fit—e-learning for cyber security training.