Cyber crimes threaten to disrupt people and businesses
View(s):At a time when the use of cyber space is seen pushing the world towards war (ISIS through Facebook, etc) startling revelations on cyber crimes was made at a presentation given by an official attached to Microsoft Sri Lanka, last week at the SarvodayaFusion Awards Ceremony in Moratuwa.
Shalini Ratwatte, Corporate Attorney for Microsoft’s South East Asia New Markets, making a presentation on the ‘Role of Microsoft in Cyber Crimes’, said that cyber crimes have now become a massive money industry spinning dollars larger than that of the illegal drug industry drawing billions of dollars to criminals- a gigantic amount of US$113 billion annually.
In elaborating the magnitude of these dastardly crimes, she said that 12 people are victims of cyber crime every second – nearly 400 million people every year; 1 in 5 small and medium businesses are targeted; these crimes cost consumers over $113 billion annually; 50 per cent of the world’s securities exchanges were targeted in 2012; 50 per cent of online adults have been targeted last year and cyber criminals thrive on child pornography.
She complemented Sarvodaya for taking the initiative to bring in experts to create the necessary awareness to all the students who graduate from their IT Literacy Programme and all users of IT to be very careful and act responsibly so that these crimes could be minimised.
These crimes, she said are commonly known as hacking and these criminals operate through malicious software or malware – malware infections creep into computers through means such as insecure website, Facebook, social media but most of all through pirated software which comes inherently embedded with malware.
Ms. Ratwatte asserted that the National University of Singapore, one of the top 25 universities in the world, together with the International Data Corporation (IDC), has in over 11 countries examined brand new hardware that had pirated software and they found that two out of three computers that had pirated software came embedded with malware. This shows that cyber criminals are very sophisticated and have infiltrated even the supply chains, she added.
Explaining how meticulously the Microsoft Digital Crimes Unit operates, she said that it is an international legal and technical team working with partners, to help create a safe digital world. Whether working on issues such as malicious software crimes, IP crimes, or technology-facilitated child exploitation, the team applies legal and technical expertise to help enhance cloud security. They are moving their experts across the areas of malicious software crimes and their combined team comprises more than 100 attorneys, investigators, business professionals, and forensic analysts based in North America, EMEA, APAC, India, China, and LATAM.
Their unit is protecting consumers and businesses from a full range of cyber crime activities, including botnets and malware; the connection between piracy and malware, with a focus on the increased risk of malware infection when people use unlicensed and counterfeit software or purchase products from unsecure supply chains; and technology-facilitated child sexual exploitation.
She said that malware is capable of all kinds of evil activities that can do untold damage without warning, like stealing confidential information as well as large sums of money. Their unit, she said, helps protect the customers from malware and to raise the cost of doing business for the criminals.
Ms Ratwatte assured that Microsoft is committed to protect unsuspecting consumers from downloading or purchasing non-genuine software that expose victims to spyware, malware and viruses that can lead to identity theft, loss of data, and system failures and said “ We are all dedicated to support a fair, competitive environment, which is the best foundation for an innovation-oriented economy.”
Deputy Economic Planning Minister Harsha de Silva speaking as the Chief Guest said that information technology is critical in ensuring transaction costs of business is kept to a minimum. He said that IT must not be learnt as purely a subject, but it must be an opening for everyday activities, for example when banking operations are done through Internet time in going to the bank and money on transport are saved.
He said that people in remote areas could consult medical experts through Internet that reduces cost of transport immensely
He paid a glowing tribute to Dr. A.T. Ariyaratne, Founder and Chairman, Sarvodaya for working for decades in this country and across the world on a single mission of creating social justice among the people all over the world.