Put simply, cybercrime, especially financial malware, has the potential to be quite the lucrative affair. That's only because the bad guys have the tools to make their work quick and easy, though. Cripple the automated processes presented by certain malware platforms, and suddenly the threats -- and the losses --aren't quite so serious.
Given the current prevalence of mobile devices, especially smartphones, it comes as no surprise that they are becoming more and more entwined with everyday aspects of our lives. We don't just use them to make calls, to text, or to browse the internet anymore. We can use them to do just about anything, and that includes using them as a means to provide our credentials.
Data privacy has gotten its fair share of attention these days, what with the high-profile data breaches that have taken place in recent months. Fittingly, PricewaterhouseCoopers released the results of its 2013 data privacy survey late last year, in which the 370 participants represented both board level members responsible for oversight of privacy programs within their organization and practitioners involved in day to day operations.
That's how much has been spent on the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia so far, with the final tab projected to be even higher. Though various elements factor into this being the costliest Olympics ever -- to put things into perspective, China spent $40 billion on the 2008 Summer Olympics -- security is a big one.
Physical security has come a long way since the advent of the lock and key. But for all of its changes, the greatest aspect of the evolution of physical security is how it has begun to mesh with our digital world.
Any employee with access to sensitive data is a potential threat, whether they know it or not. Even if they don't have malicious intentions, the inherent nature of their privilege is what makes them so dangerous.