Caution Needed As Apple iPad Launches To Fanfare And Cyber Attacks
Christian Harris, 28/01/2010, posted in "Analysis"
Christian Harris is editor of BCW. Christian is an IT journalist with over 17 years industry experience. In that time he has launched, edited and written for numerous magazines ...more info
Christian Harris is editor of BCW. Christian is an IT journalist with over 17 years industry experience. In that time he has launched, edited and written for numerous magazines and Web sites including PC Magazine, ZDNet, TechWorld, VNUnet, PC Advisor, PCW, GameSpot, Stuff, Press Gazette, Web User, The Daily Mail and The Guardian. As a copywriter/blogger, Christian also works on freelance marketing projects that include producing Web sites and writing white papers, case studies and press releases. Christian has a BA (Hons) in Publishing from the London College of Communication. ...less info
Apple’s newly announced iPad dominating the news agenda has provided a golden opportunity for cybercriminals to target consumers hungry for more information on Apple’s new creation.
As soon as the announcement was made, security gurus at Symantec observed that related search terms had become targets for Blackhat SEO attacks and phishing attacks. Without sounding to alarmist, businesses interested in finding out more about the iPad over the Internet must be on guard.
The excitement over the iPad has been building for months now, so it’s only to be expected that its announcement would spark a huge spike in search traffic relating to certain terms. Sadly, this is just the kind of opportunity fraudsters like to exploit by poisoning search terms, and we can also expect to see iPad-related spam and phishing attacks hitting consumers hard over the coming weeks.
Tips for avoiding iPad pain:
- Avoid clicking on suspicious links in e-mail or IM messages as these may be links to spoofed Web sites
- Type Web addresses directly into the browser rather than clicking on links within messages
- If an e-mail offer looks too good to be true, it probably is. Go through authorised and known suppliers or information sources
- Always be sure that your operating system is up-to-date with the latest updates, and employ a comprehensive security suite
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