MPs warn of rise of identity-stealing bank-robbing malware

Identity-stealing bank-robbing malware is a growing threat to Britain.

That’s the conclusion not of the anti-virus industry, but of the UK Parliament’s Science and Technology Select Committee who have published a report today calling on the Government to launch a “prolonged awareness raising campaign to increase public understanding of personal online security”.

The problem, believe the MPs, is that the typical consumer is either clueless about where to look for information about securing themselves online or is bamboozled by the complicated jargon and buzzwords frequently used.

I strongly believe that greater awareness and education regarding internet threats is an essential part of fighting the problem, and it’s encouraging to see the committee’s report not only back this idea, but also to recommend that messages need to be customized carefully for the different generations of people using the net.

After all, a message designed for my 12-year-old niece is probably going to…

Read more in my article on the Naked Security website.

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Graham Cluley •   @gcluley

Graham Cluley is a veteran of the anti-virus industry having worked for a number of security companies since the early 1990s when he wrote the first ever version of Dr Solomon's Anti-Virus Toolkit for Windows. Now an independent security analyst, he regularly makes media appearances and is an international public speaker on the topic of computer security, hackers, and online privacy. Follow him on Twitter at @gcluley, on Mastodon at @[email protected], or drop him an email.