Security for December in Review By Peter M. Abraham December 2003 December 29 - Cyber Blackmail Wave Targets Office Workers - Cyber blackmail artists are shaking down office workers, threatening to delete computer files or install pornographic images on their work PCs unless they pay a ransom, police and security experts said. December 28 - Phishing Attacks Soar - Phishing, the term used to describe malignant e-mail posing as legitimate messages from banks, retailers, and credit card companies, soared in November and December as scammers took advantage of the holiday rush to try to trick users into divulging personal and financial information. December 26 - We've had at least one customer contact us concerning blackmail attempts to send money in order to avoid having 10,000,000 (10 million) SPAM messages containing the customer's email and site information in an attempt to get the customer black listed; and kicked off of their hosting services.  They promptly contacted http://www.ifccfbi.gov/index.asp. Should you receive such threats, please do report them as well as letting us know, too. December 24 - Scam Targets Visa Customers - Security experts are warning of a new Internet scam that preys on Visa credit card holders, using e-mail and a specially designed Web site to harvest customer account numbers and personal identification numbers. December 24 - Spending To Fend Off Online Attacks Grows In 2004 - The information-security spending focus next year will be on hackers and viruses, according to research by Yankee Group. December 19 - FTC warns small firms to watch out for Net scam - Small businesses in Pittsburgh and nationwide are being warned to check their phone bills for unauthorized charges for Internet services following more than 1,000 complaints tied to a group of companies based in Miami. December 19 - Wi-Fi hacks are getting more serious - Security firm AirDefense monitored all wireless traffic at the recent Wi-Fi Planet trade show and found that, while wireless hacker tools and techniques are improving rapidly, protective measures remain poor. December 18 - Tried, tested methods still work for virus writers - Computer viruses and worms did not utilize any spectacular technical innovations in 2003 because established infection and propagation methods continue to work effectively. December 18 - Warning email hides scam - Australian bank Westpac is warning customers about an e-mail scam that tries to trick users into providing their account information by pretending to be a Westpac security advisory warning people about such 'phishing' scams. December 2 - Virus clean up costs four times higher than predicted - It costs four times more to clean up after a virus than previously thought, according to a survey of large enterprise IT departments. Thank you.