The A to Z of security

Kids

Computer misuse was once seen as the domain of disenchanted teens causing havoc from the darkness of their grotty bedrooms. Many of the earliest instances of malware being released were traced back to virus writers in their late teens.

Security from A to Z

Click on the links below to find out more...

A is for Antivirus
B is for Botnets
C is for CMA
D is for DDoS
E is for Extradition
F is for Federated identity
G is for Google
H is for Hackers
I is for IM
J is for Jaschan (Sven)
K is for Kids
L is for Love Bug
M is for Microsoft
N is for Neologisms
O is for Orange
P is for Passwords
Q is for Questions
R is for Rootkits
S is for Spyware
T is for Two-factor authentication
U is for USB sticks/devices
V is for Virus variants
W is for Wi-fi
X is for OS X
Y is for You
Z is for Zero-day

But the rise of the internet, and big business' reliance upon it, has facilitiated a paradigm shift - computer crime has mushroomed from the act of 'angry young men' to become a fast-growing branch of international organised crime. The growth and popularity of ecommerce and online banking has further fuelled the cyber crime boom as traditional frausters take their tricks online - and learn a few new ones.

Writing last year, silicon.com columnist Simon Moores described how "the internet has given organised crime a profit margin that legitimate business can never expect to equal", and said "quite literally hundreds of billions of dollars are hidden in offshore accounts", adding: "This money fuels other criminal ventures, from paedophile pornography to drugs trafficking".

And it is the net's promise of filthy lucre that has turned computer misuse from child's play into organised global crime.