The world of cyber-crime has grown so much in these past few years due to the explosion of growth with respect to the number of internet users the world over. It has not only expanded on the side of normal people but on the side of cyber-criminals who now operate on their own networks, spanning the globe and ready to spread their products, malicious code that first scans the globe for weak points in the security net that we all put up to somewhat give us a sense of security from the ever-growing threat which is actually futile to some extent.
This was admitted by a renowned security expert who worked for one of the biggest security firms the world over for a new infection tends to be a game of cat-and-mouse that begins when a new threat is detected. The game begins with experts dissecting the captured malicious program and then they race to create a cure, much like the race to come up with a vaccine for the quickly spreading “swine-flu” virus that caught the human race off-guard. Once the malicious code is understood, a cure is issued and is swiftly sent out to allow the installed security software to cope with the infection. By this time, the infection has already spread and the cure is not to reverse any damage already done but to halt the spread and prevent infection of still un-hit computers.
Meanwhile, the cure the anti-virus programmers are not always perfect, so it can be considered a first response which may not fully contain the situation. This is where people make the biggest mistake in their security platform, that the programs they have installed are there to protect and prevent whilst the truth cannot be farther from the truth for the infection has already been active, way before it was detected. The follow-up security updates to security software makes the necessary adjustments enough to cope with the spread, halting it in it’s track, hopefully. The false security we feel works only if the threat is known which is true for variants of already known threats. New viruses are only known as much as the programmers who race to find a cure for it can work.
The internet of criminals is here and is currently working, ready to exploit the latest security flaw left un-patched by the millions of developers the world over. The threat is real and the well publicized closure of an identified malware spreading site and the arrest and conviction of a bot net creator/manager is only the tip of the iceberg. Even the experts know of this which makes knowledge the key to surviving the internet and the malware it brings to our doors. Our saying that security software is quite futile doesn’t say it is totally useless, but rather to provide us with better chances of surviving the problems we face each day. having security software is only effective against known threats but at least it’s a start.
The internet will never be truly a safe place for any of us mere humans who are becoming victims of the technology we ourselves have created. Having security is a start, but knowing what to do and to help make the better world by reporting malware sites and spam is another little way we can all help each other, to survive the monster and friend we all use everyday, the monster that is the internet that brings harm to our desktops each and every minute of the connected day.