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Economy and cyber crime 'linked'

Experts have discovered a clear correlation between the state of the economy and cyber crime.

Researchers at Ipswitch say that in the last quarter of 2008, there has been a stock market decline and simultaneously an increase in spam and scams.

They also found that instead of targeting the banking industry, credit cards and passwords, spam campaigns are now duping cash-strapped people into handing over more money under the pretence of eliminating or reducing debt.

The company said: "Conventional wisdom suggests that businesses and consumers make sure their spam filters and anti-virus engines are up to date.

"The good news is that although overall spam attempts continue to rise, the amount of spam arriving in email inboxes has remained relatively level for those who utilise proper email filtering."

It added that in order to be as secure as possible, businesses should combine a "strong reputation system" with a "complete filtering system that includes heuristics, statistical analysis, signature filters and multi-lingual detection".

Recent reports show that people who are doing their Christmas shopping online this year are also at risk of being targeted by cyber criminals.

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