Do You Think?

I've been reading some of the security newsletters that come into my inbox on a regular basis. A recurring theme in these missives seems to be 'phishing' (see below) is going to be the biggest security problem for end users in the coming year. The sad thing, it is probably true.

How many times have the news media reported on this problem? Hundreds of times more than likely. How many times have users been told, 'Your financial institutions do not send emails telling you to go to a site and input your confidential information'.

Are end users like sheep, following wherever the paths lead? Do they just ignore common sense and blindly do whatever an email tells them? There must be thousands of these 'sheep like' users out there on the 'web' or the perpetrators would not keep up the endless barrage of 'phishing' emails I get in my inbox. The same holds true for spammers. They just keep sending and sending an endless stream of garbage email to just about everyone that has an email account. Some of the more gullible of users click and buy from this junk, thus encouraging the garbage handlers to send out more of their trash.

How can we educate end users to delete unopened all of this junk? How can we convince these folks to NEVER buy anything from a spam email? I wish I knew! If how to handle 'phishing' and spam is published in the local newspapers, reported on the news and written about on countless websites haven't made a dent in what these poor 'victims' will do, then what can be done?

Should ISPs make users take a security course before they let them connect to the Internet? Make them pass a test? That would seem to be impractical, but somewhere, somehow, there has to be an answer!

(Phishing, pronounced fishing, is a nefarious plot to steal a victim's information. The emails claim to be from a financial instution, like your bank or credit card company, eBay, PayPal or a simuliar company. The message varies, some claim to need you to update your information or your account may be closed. For an example,look at this page on Martha's Web.)