Internet Security Learning Center

Assault of the Hackers

Small retailers spend less money on computer security than nearly all other industries, which makes their databases a popular target for hackers, who are mostly interested in obtaining credit card information that they can either sell or use to make purchases. Some hackers are former employees or competitors trying to eliminate a site or hold it for ransom. Since hackers will target any Web site thought to have credit card information, it is necessary to either encrypt this information or transfer the data directly to a processing company. Firewalls, current antivirus software, encrypted wireless standards, and clear email and software policies all play a large role in company security. A recent trend in attacks has been to access Microsoft Word or Access and encrypt or freeze all information and demand a ransom. Although attacks on small businesses only account for less than 1 percent of attacks on a specific industry, they can have a dramatic impact on small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The use of open-source software can be dangerous for SMEs, as it often has a poor security record. Many small businesses use Web-serving software built into Windows along with Microsoft's database software on the same machine, but this can be very dangerous, as hackers could get into the database through vulnerabilities in the Web server. In addition, both the PHP open-source computer language and Ajax technology are thought to present many risks to database security, and the database is where the value is for a hacker.

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