Chapter 4: Hackers Like Christmas Best of All{0}
Hackers Like Christmas Best of All
Robert McMillan’s 2009 article entitled Hackers Like Christmas Best of All is an article about hackers favorite time to hack into corporate networks. The article explains how many people think that summer (the time when the security guy might be on vacation) is the ideal time for hackers to try to get into corporate networks. They actually try to do it the most at Christmas time. The hacking may include spamming or spreading worms like the Koobface facebook one and the ones before it: Sobig, Blaster and Zotob.
There are several reasons included for it. The hackers like it because they think that people will be distracted and busy with other things. Another reason is that more people are taking vacation at the time, leaving companies short-staffed. This will leave them more vulnerable. People are also sending more messages to each other and have their guard down. They shop online, making it easier for hackers to get in undetected.
A main point of the article was that security professionals need to be more alert at this time of year. People have their parties and gift giving, but some need to be aware of the danger that they may face.
Our textbook states that the first line of defense to this hacking is people. If people are informed better, they have more of a chance to defend themselves. Perhaps an idea is to employ more stringent security practices for the month of December and January. Companies can also hire outside help at this time for further security measures. As the textbook states, companies may lose $108,000 every hour that their IT system is not working right.
McMillan, R. (2009) Hackers Like Christmas Best of All, PC World Business Center. Retrieved September 17, 2009, from http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/170799/hackers_like_christmas_best_of_all.html