Experts: Most users clueless about cybersecurity

According to two government officials, the Internet is particularly vulnerable because most users have no idea what they are up against or how to prevent a cyberattack.

Michael Stawasz, senior counsel for the computer crime and intellectual property section at the U.S. Department of Justice, and Austin Berglas, supervisory special agent for the cybercrime unit at the FBI's New York office, recently spoke at a Symantec event in Washington, D.C. about security and growing threats.

According to an article in PCWorld, they said Internet crime rates will continue to increase because end-users don't have the education or awareness about current online threats. Just having one or two people trained to deal with the problem is not enough, according to Stawasz.

Berglas outlined just one example that has caused problems. It involved a 12-year-old kid engaging in mischief online. "You don't have to be that technically sophisticated to commit a cybercrime now," he told PCWorld. "You don't have to be a computer genius to partner with other criminals, or to purchase what you need to commit these crimes."

There are plenty of standard ways to deal with the growing cyber threat--this includes using security and anti-virus software. Users should guard against user ID and password theft, and computers have to be kept up to date, they said. There is always the chance computer fortifications will go South, but having a few dependable security structures in place will make it harder for systems to be vulnerable to hack attacks.

For more on protecting your computer from attacks:
- check out this PCWorld.com article [1]