Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Latest News
    • Blogs
    • Security Watch

    2009 Sure-Thing Security Predictions: People Still Weakest Link

    By
    Matthew Hines
    -
    January 2, 2009
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      If one thing is sure not to change in 2009, it’s the fact that attackers will likely be using more social engineering methods than ever before – and more socially-driven technologies than ever before – to find their prey.

      Why is this fact so certain?

      Well, that’s easy, because, even if someone can technically exploit the entire underlying system of trust (SSL certs) on which Web security is built, or, on the flip side, even if our technological protections from attack are stronger and smarter than ever before, the truth remains that the most significant risk for any computer’s security is the person sitting in a chair in front of it, and this will never change.

      Will the person look at the SSL info even if it is there and accurate? Most do not, myself included.

      Even worse, as we continue to grow even more enmeshed and dependent on technologies to do things like communicate with our colleagues and friends, we actually become even more prone to exposing ourselves to external threats, in particular those the play on our familiarity and comfort in using said tools.

      Try Facebook, join Twitter, use Skype.

      The more we embrace the technologies, the greater the risk of social engineering becomes. And hey, e-mail scams still work fantastically well if socially-engineered, a good decade after their invention.

      We’ve been saying this for years of course, but 2008 saw significantly more angles on social engineering – from threats carried out on social networking sites like Facebook to greater instances of targeted spear-phishing – than we’ve ever seen before.

      Why? Because people are easy to fool! Far more so than computers, and maybe even more so than ever before, it would seem, which is pretty scary to anyone who follows vulnerability research.

      So, it’s not surprising to see that Trend Micro researchers are finding fake classmates.com invitations being used to suck people into downloading malware.

      Or that experts at TrendLabs have found a ZLOB variant in rotation among users of Friendster, which still has a massive following in the Far East.

      “Since early November we have been observing the increasing occurrence of social networking malware, whose main modus operandi is to trick users into clicking a link which… scores much on credibility, because it often arrives via messages sent through social networking sites’ internal messaging functionality,” Trend researchers said in a summary.

      At the end of the day, IT security, and especially Web security, will only be as intelligent as we, the end users, can be.

      And at present, it would seem that, relatively speaking, we’re still plenty dumb.

      But isn’t that why scams have always worked?

      Happy New Year!

      Matt Hines has been following the IT industry for over a decade as a reporter and blogger, and has been specifically focused on the security space since 2003, including a previous stint writing for eWeek and contributing to the Security Watch blog. Hines is currently employed as marketing communications manager at Core Security Technologies, a Boston-based maker of security testing software. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the views of Core Security, and neither the company, nor its products and services will be actively discussed in the blog. Please send news, research or tips to [email protected].

      Matthew Hines

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Android

      Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro: Durability for Tough...

      Chris Preimesberger - December 5, 2020 0
      Have you ever dropped your phone, winced and felt the pain as it hit the sidewalk? Either the screen splintered like a windshield being...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Yotascale CEO Asim Razzaq on Controlling Multicloud...

      James Maguire - May 5, 2022 0
      Asim Razzaq, CEO of Yotascale, provides guidance on understanding—and containing—the complex cost structure of multicloud computing. Among the topics we covered:  As you survey the...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      IT Management

      Intuit’s Nhung Ho on AI for the...

      James Maguire - May 13, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nhung Ho, Vice President of AI at Intuit, about adoption of AI in the small and medium-sized business market, and how...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2021 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×