Internet Security – An Oxymoron?

Internet security warnings from my Tech Net News column in the last few days. This is only a small sampling of the hundreds of cyber criminal activities I’ve posted to Tech Net News so far this year.

Fake VirusTotal site serves malware

Hotmail flaw allows attackers to exfiltrate emails

LinkedIn security flaws allow account hijacking

Sony online store hacked and user information published

Black Hole Exploit Kit Available for Free

Cybercrime statistics show widespread phishing problem

Not Even Security Managers Immune to FakeAV Infection

Major weapons makers see networks breached by hackers

Apps with dangerous permissions pulled from Chrome Web Store

Security researcher finds ‘cookiejacking’ risk in IE

Norwegian Military Hit by Cyber Attack in March

Google Patches Critical Chrome Bugs

Newest MacDefender Scareware Installs Without a Password

The question:

Why should it be necessary for me to run FIVE  security applications on my home machine – including  Zemana AntiLogger, WinPatrol, Microsoft Security Essentials, PC Tools Firewall Plus, and ThreatFire – to guard against cyber crime ?  On top of that, in order to maximize security potential, I have to  run in a virtual environment (BufferZone Pro), while surfing the Net.

It doesn’t stop there though. In addition to all of the above, I have to load up my Browser (Firefox), with TEN security/privacy add-0ns including – Adblock Plus, Better Privacy, WOT, Ghostery, GoogleSharing,  HTTPS-Everywhere, NoScript, Perspectives, Qualys BrowserCheck, and Search Engine Security.

Reality:

The reality is – we are immersed in a mess that has reached virtually unmanageable proportions. We are now at a full blown crisis stage vis a vis Internet security.

The tech speak, which this situation engenders, reminds me in a sense of the political rhetoric we are constantly exposed to – everyone has identified the  problem/no one has identified the real problem; everyone has a problem solution/no one has a solution, everyone seems to discuss it/no one truly discusses it.

The end result? It appears as if no one seems to give a damn. So, we just keep on piling up the victims of cyber crime.

Finger pointing, and finger wagging, is the order of the day. It’s the developers fault; it’s the users’ fault; it’s the very nature of the backbone of  the Internet (as if the Internet was a parallel universe not subject to laws, or moral and ethical consideration); it’s the lack of effective law enforcement; it’s the lack of truly effective security applications; Internet security is a business, so it’s unlikely anyone is going to kill the goose that lays the golden egg; …………… Round and round it goes.

What a mess! Are you as tired of been forced to deal with this seemingly never-ending escalation in cyber crime, as I am?

Something to consider – cyber criminals are not the only ones who find Internet security a lucrative field. I’ll admit that I’m a cynic – but, I’ve never yet met a problem solver who worked himself out of a job. Something to think about the next time you purchase a security application, or appliance.

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