It seems that 2008 was a grim year, but not just in terms of the economy. McAfee, the maker of a well-known antivirus, has estimated that the total economic loss due to data theft in 2008 was $1 trillion dollars. To put that in perspective, it is approximately 1/10 of the current federal deficit. Imagine what could be done with $1 trillion dollars.
So why was the number so high? Well, according to McAfee malware increased by 400% in 2008 and over 80% of businesses surveyed found some sort of malware on their computers capable of stealing valuable financial information. Ironically, not even companies that make security software are safe. Kaspersky, which has produced an antivirus that in many independent tests detects a higher percentage of viruses, worms, trojans and rootkits than either McAfee or the well known Norton Antivirus, while producing very few false positives, had its website hacked over the weekend with a simple SQL injection. Apparently no one is safe, but what can be done to reduce the probability of an attack like this affecting your own personal finances? Tune in next time to find out.
Nice cliffhanger; of course the only way you can truely be safe from viruses, worms, etc. is to not use the internet. The problem is that hackers are always one step ahead, antivirus companies make programs that remove old viruses not future viruses.
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