MBR_Issue_28 -February 2017 (1)

Malta Business Review
INFORMATION SECURITY
Sigurtá Onlajn Għalik
by Cedric Mallia – Manager MITA Computer Security Team
Your online activity is being tracked, and it
is arguably what keeps most free content
on the internet ‘free’.
The popular saying ‘There is no such thing
as a free lunch’ poetically states that if
something is free, then there is some
other way which you are paying for it just
the same. Most free webmail systems
scan the contents of your email in order to
show you adverts based on what you sent
and received in your emails. Social media
often show you adverts based on interests
in the same site. However, sometimes they
also show product adverts based on the
searches you would have made in online
shopping web sites.
This type of tracking, whilst not always
appreciated, is necessarily as this
information is often sold to advertising
companies in order to create more
effective online advertising based on your
perceived interests.
However, such tracking can be taken
to a more sinister level whereby your
activities are tracked with the specific
intention of observing the activities that
you do. This can include recording your
keystrokes, reading your emails and any
other content shown on your screen such
as bank records, payment details and even
health related information. This personal
information can be sold to other criminals
with the intention of carrying out online
fraud by doing purchases with your creditcards,
or carrying out identity theft.
Cyber criminals typically infect your
computer, in order to install malware
that records your activity, through files or
software downloaded from non-official
software sites, or opening infected email
attachments, and also by clicking on popups.
You can help protect yourself by taking
the usual precautions when online by
not opening web sites and attachments
that you are not sure of, and always
being careful what you download. Always
keep your computer anti-virus program
updated and also keep all your software
up-to-date to reduce the possibility of
vulnerabilities being exploited. And do not
use your personal details on websites that
you do not fully trust.
You should also pay attention if you start
noticing unusual activity, such as your
computer getting much slower in booting
up and shutting down. Try to observe if
your computer is not as responsive as
it usually is, and that when you browse
you are not seeing unusual popups. Any
activity which seemingly starts occurring
without your intervention is always worth
noting. If you are not sure what do to
in such cases, please immediately ask
someone that you trust and it technically
knowledgeable to help you out. At best
it could be something innocuous, but at
worst you may be infected.
Without sounding repetitive, prevention
remains the best way of protecting
yourself. But if you do get infected, then
fixing the problem as soon as possible
will make the difference between a minor
impact and a major problem. MBR
14