Ten years ago, hacking attacks on major organizations were few and far between. Today, it seems like a different hacking news story is being released every day. Unfortunately, hacking attacks against individual PC users have also increased, and some computer security experts believe the situation is going to spiral out of control.
How do viruses attack major organizations?
When you hear about hacking attacks on the news, you may not understand how large government and corporate networks become susceptible to hackers. After all, they must invest millions of dollars in PC security, right? Don’t they have a team of tech support workers monitoring the system around the clock?
While this is partially true, it only takes one weak link to break the chain of PC security. In last year’s attack against the U.S. Department of Energy, that weak link was employees who relied on Windows Internet Explorer. Because of a day 0 security loophole in the latest version of Internet Explorer, many computer users were susceptible to serious malware and viruses. At the Department of Energy, 57 employees clicked on a malicious link through Internet Explorer. Only 2 of those employees’ computers were infected, but that was still enough for the hackers to gain access to their computers and, using that secure connection, begin infiltrating data from the lab’s network.
This story illustrates that every PC security network has some sort of loophole. Due to frequent software updates and miscommunication between different programs, a security breach is bound to be found eventually.
How do I protect myself or my company?
Hackers are launching new operations every day. Some of these are designed to bring down major companies. Others are designed to expose the information of millions of computer users. Others still are built to hack into the computers of individual users around the world.
Protecting individual attacks against your computer is fairly straightforward: simply download good antivirus software and scan your PC once a week or so. However, if your banking company’s system gets hacked, or if a government organization gets hacked, then your personal data may be released into the world through no fault of your own. To protect yourself from these attacks, you’re going to have to look into identity theft protection services.
Summary
Many PC security experts agree that today’s hackers are more dangerous than they have ever been in the past. Our world relies on software and the internet in order to accomplish some of the most important everyday tasks, and one single flaw in that network can cause millions of dollars’ worth of damage.
The constant battle over computer security will not end any time soon. The best thing you can do is to arm yourself with good antivirus software and clean your computer on a regular basis. With PC Cleaner Pro, you can do all of those things – even if you’re not a wizard with computers. Download your free trial today!
