Fight against computer hackers

Ø 1) Read the headings of the texts 7.24; 7.30 and 7.31, and make a supposition what topic they are devoted to.

Ø 2) Name “the signal words” which help the author to back up the idea of computer security with examples.

Ø 3) Read the text and say whether the questions of losses to the business due to computer breaking are covered in it.

Most companies think hackers would never break into their computer systems and fail to take even the most basic security precautions. Firms wishing to does business on the Internet will have to ensure transactions are absolutely secure in order to win over consumer confidence.

According to one recent survey, authored by Mr. Simple, two thirds of top Irish companies do not have a contingency plan for a breach in computer security. More than half have detected or been infected by a computer virus.

The most important thing managers can do is improve their understanding of what the risks are. Often, a high-tech firewall may be less effective than a thorough review of who has, and should not have, access to the company com­puter system.

When hackers break into a sys­tem, they always try to find the default log-on name and pass­word, and then invent several innocu­ous-looking log-ons for them to ensure permanent access to the system.

Managers should erase the de­fault log-on once the system is up and running.

While many companies have a general fear of a break-in by hack­ers - and are unclear how to pre­vent such an attack - they are in fact more likely to suffer at the hands of unwitting or malevolent insiders.

Analysts in the United States, where the rate of computerisation is far higher than in Europe, say computer security can only be­come more essential to business as an increasing number of transac­tions take place over the Internet.

Already, the FBI estimates an annual loss of $7.5 billion as a result of electronic attack. One survey revealed that the US De­partment of Defense discovered 88 per cent of their computers are penetrable. In 96 per cent of the cases where hackers got in, their intrusions went undetected, ac­cording to the report.

In one celebrated case, a Russian computer hacker suc­cessfully breached a large number of a major bank’s corporate ac­counts, stole $400, 000, and illegally transferred another $11.6 million.

In 1994, the US Secret Service un­covered a $50 billion telephone card scam in which many ac­counts of AT& T, MCI and Sprint cardholders were regularly abused.

Companies should undertake some measures to secure for cus­tomers sending their credit card infor­mation down the phone line. The system would use high-speed telephone lines and firewalls to protect the informa­tion in the base, while customers will use a special computer pro­gramme to send finan­cial information. The programme encrypts credit card numbers and sends them in separate batches.

There have been cases of people breaking through the SSL 40-bit encryption. But there are easier ways to get credit card numbers.

In some companies there are hacker-turned-cor­porate advisors whose responsibility is computer security, telling business ex­ecutives how to avoid being a victim.

Ø 4) Give your own examples to the main ideas expressed in the text.

Ø 5) Write an annotation to the text.