Safe internet?

The proliferation of free software (antiviruses, firewalls, etc.) has added to the feeling of safety that people using the Internet have – but, in the majority of cases, this “safety” is just the opposite.

And contrary to what used to happen in the past, the most dangerous threats now present themselves as perfectly credible and legitimate.

Today, for example, cyber criminals succeed in luring unsuspecting people to sites that look just like the bank site that they use – but which in reality are just false fronts for stealing passwords to real bank accounts. (It’s a technique known as “phishing”).

Another example: it didn’t take long for cyber criminals to try and take advantage of the recent earthquake in Haiti.

Security specialists at the US firm «Sunbelt Software» discovered that by using keywords like “haiti earthquake donations”, a number of search engines – Google included – lead Internet users straight to dodgy sites.

The exploitation of tragedies for nefarious means is, sadly, all too common. Just before fraudsters started using the Haiti earthquake as bait for all forms of illicit schemes, the FBI released an alert (on 14th January) about cyber attacks and false sites that could try and obtain money destined to help victims of the earthquake.

The same type of attack – in research on the Internet – occurs with other themes, among them Swine Flu. The problem is that even legitimate sites supporting humanitarian causes (NGOs, for instance) have been ‘attacked’ and personal data on bank accounts and credit cards stolen.

This Saturday 6th February, the European Commission will once again call people’s attention to the threat of cyber crime, through their «Safer Internet Day» initiative.

The scheme was created in 2003 with the idea of making people aware of cyber crime. In 2009, 50 countries supported «Safer Internet Day». This year, the target-public is young people and adolescents – and the message is to make them think of the consequences of an “online post” in any of the many Internet channels available today (forums, social networking sites, blogs, etc.)

Portugal has made available an “alert line” where anyone can reveal, in complete confidence and safety, illegal sites like those promoting child pornography, violence or racism. The “alert line” linhaalerta.internetsegura.pt/ is supported by the European consortium «Insafe».