Norton Cybercrime Index – Scaring You By The Numbers

Where I live in Canada, Winter weather can be very uncertain, and driving and travel conditions are obviously affected accordingly. So, for safety’s sake, it’s important to be aware of highway, expressway, and local road conditions.

A fairly typical February day in my neighborhood:

Luckily, The Weather Network which is available either Online, or via broadcast TV, provides a “road conditions” report which indicates which roads are clear, ice covered, snow covered, slippery, and so on.

I’m very certain that this road conditions report has value, and is an effective aid designed to increase safe driving awareness and reduce the risk factor associated with Winter driving.

But, I’m less certain about a new service (February 16, 2011), Norton Cybercrime Index, which is ostensibly designed to alert users to the slippery spots, and other unsafe road conditions, on the Internet highway – by assigning a unique daily cybercrime index number.

According to the company, “The Norton Cybercrime Index alerts consumers to today’s online trouble-spots and potential hazards, including the day’s most dangerous websites, the most hijacked search terms by cybercriminals, as well as top scams, identity theft and spam. The free tool includes expert news about the day’s most dangerous threat and advice on how to avoid it to stay safe online.”

Adam Palmer, Norton lead cyber security advisor, referencing this new service, made the point that Norton’s “goal is to have people add the Norton Cybercrime Index to their daily routine to get a clear understanding of the dangers that are threatening them online, and to take preventative action to avoid falling victim.”

And that’s where I take issue with this type of “helper aid”. Internet threat level indicators are utter nonsense – they just raise the fear level (a good thing if you sell security applications), and have little, or no, constructive purpose.

Either a continuing unsafe condition exists, or it doesn’t. If it does exist, applying an arbitrary numerical descriptor has no positive impact on a specific individual’s behavior.

Unless one has been on an Intergalactic voyage for the last few years, the average Internet users is reasonably aware that the Internet is a veritable unlimited hunting ground for cybercriminals. The daily specifics covering a few selected threats, out of literally thousands of such new threats, is counterproductive. The reality is, many security threats morph and change by the minute.

I can hear this imaginary conversation at my local pub.

He: I see the Internet threat level hit 142 today.

Me: Yeah, but yesterday it was at 183. Must mean things are getting better, no?

So my question is – just how is Norton Cybercrime Index supposed to make Internet users’ more cyber-aware, and more vigilant? It seems to me that Internet users’ who are lacking in cyber-awareness, or who engage in unsafe surfing practices, are unlikely to pay any attention.

Undoubtedly, the majority of Internet users’ need to “get a clear understanding of the dangers that are threatening them online”, but that requires education, and a consistent dedication to practical principals of cyber security. Not an artificial reliance on a threat indicator that is essentially meaningless, and potentially confusing.

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