A new week is upon us and, with it, new challenges. Here are some of the big security stories to watch for in the coming days.
Online attacks will play on Sandy Hook Elementary tragedy.
With the news about a gruesome massacre of school children at Sandy Hook Elementary school in Newtown Connecticut still dominating the headlines around the world, security experts are warning folks to be wary of scams and malware attacks playing on the still-unfolding tragedy. The SANS Internet Storm Center (ISC) issued an
alert on Monday about Newtown scam sites. The ISC said that several new domain names have been registered relating to the tragic killings in Newtown, and at least some are likely to be the creation of scam artists floating fake charities in the hope of tapping into the outpouring of public grief over the incident. So far, there aren't any scams to report, but SANS said that will change in the days ahead.
Hackin' around the Christmas tree: holiday scams ramp up
We all know that, at least in the U.S., the holiday shopping season starts sometime before Halloween. But things really get going in December. Online shopping makes up a bigger and bigger piece of the holiday season retail pie. Cyber Monday - the first Monday following Thanksgiving - was the
biggest online shopping day ever, topping $1.5 billion. Online criminals know that, and are using social media like Facebook and Twitter to lure would-be shoppers with bogus offers. The web site Facecrooks
warned of one such scam: a spam campaign on Facebook promising $1,000 Walmart Christmas gift cards. Clicking on the link leads, circuitously, to an online survey that you're asked to fill out and a Facebook application you're asked to install. Doing so will spread the spam to all your contacts.
