With industrialization and globalization, a new kind of industry has come into being known as the small business. It has a limited capital starting from 5crores. With the boom in IT infrastructure many small-scale industries have also started using websites and blogs to promote their business. But as we all know each coin has two sides to it so doe’s use of IT and Net banking.

Hackers are the people who break through the system and steal and sell the personal and confidential information of an organization to its competitors. They always look for small or micro business organizations as they don’t have a high level of security and it is also very easy to hack into their systems.

These are the following sources available for the hackers:

The website or blog

With the advancement in technology, the small and micro businesses have blogs and websites to display their information. This website is connected through a server in the main motherboard with has all the information that is confidential to the business. Hackers tend to target the website or blog and reach the motherboard to get the information of transactions and the day to day dealings of a business.

Mobile phones or tablets

Since the scale of business is small and micro day to day dealings can be done through mobile or net banking. Since we all are careless about the security of our phones this gives the hackers a chance to get into our phones and tablets to hack the information about the transaction and sometimes steal important banking information and capsize the entire amount.

Emails

Emails are another source of getting information from the system. Hackers or spammers can send emails with advertisements or links that once clicked on can generate virus in the system which helps the hackers to steal the information.

Every problem has a remedy to it so does this one. Here are some ways in which we can protect our confidential information from being stolen.

Passwords

Setting passwords on servers and Wi-Fi can be a proven way to protect any outsider from breaking into the system and cracking the information.

Encryption

It is a process of encoding a message in such a way that only authorized parties can access it and those who do not have the authority cannot see or read it. It helps in keeping the information amongst trusted individuals.

Updating

Frequently updating the software allows us to keep the hackers away as they need time to figure out how to crack an update thus keeping our information safe and secure.

Security questions and creative answers

We should come up with unique and different answers for the security questions asked for the safety. The basic and general answers are a guess away.

Don’t link accounts

Linking the website with the bank account for easy transactions is a bad idea as for when the hackers hack into the website he also gets the access to the bank accounts.

Thus the small business can adopt these means to protect their data from hackers.

Cyber security threats are constantly changing. It is important to stay on top of emerging trends to keep your insurance agency website secure. A secure website not only protects your customers, it protects your brand. Here are the six top tips to help you keep your insurance website protected.

1. Be Cautious When Creating Login Credentials
   Giving someone access to the back-end of your website is sort of like giving someone a key to your business. Maintain caution when giving someone login access and always keep login access to the minimum amount of people necessary to keep your website up-to-date.

2. Update Security Patches, Limit Password Attempts, Use Malware Protection Software
   One of the most proactive ways you can keep would-be hackers at bay is to keep all aspects of your website’s code updated. When security patches, plugins, or dependency updates are released, install them as soon as possible. Hackers are constantly looking for exploits to popular coding methods. When an exploit is discovered it is typically patched by the code developers as quickly as possible. The sooner you update your code the sooner you remove a threat that’s accessible to thousands of hackers. And all insurance websites should use a malware detection and prevention solution and limit password attempts.

3. Create a “We’ve been hacked” Response Plan
   Even the best attempts at keeping your site from hacking can fall short. It is absolutely imperative you have a response plan. Audit logs, backups, and contact information for IT support should be included in your response plan.

4. Collect Detailed Activity Logs
   Make certain you have access to log reports on all back-end website functions, to help pinpoint issues when a breach occurs. Every login attempt, page adjustment, code adjustment, and plugin addition should be logged with user time stamps.

5. Perform frequent backups and keep a copy of recent backup data off premises.
   Backing up your website should be an integral part of your response plan, and some hosting providers offer daily backup services. How often you need to backup your website will depend on how often you update it. When your insurance agency backs up your site, save a copy of the backup off of your server in easily accessible cloud storage. If your host is hacked and the server’s contents are compromised, you will have an unaltered version stored out of the hands of hackers.

6. Train Users on How to Stay Secure
   Once you have your Cyber Security plan enabled, train all users on how to stay safe and prevent attacks. Educate users on how to generate very strong passwords and keep them safe by using a password manager, recognize email phishing scams, and how to encrypt emails that contain sensitive information. What’s a strong password? Today, use at least 10 characters, with alpha (including a cap), numeric (random not a sequential string), and special characters (exclamation, etc.). Many website platforms such as WordPress, will generate and/or measure the strength of your password.

To protect your website, start with the basics above, then determine if you have the expertise to continually stay abreast of potential cyber attacks. If not, consider outsourcing this initiative to a proficient web hosting and debeleopment company or insurance marketing agency.

As with time, while we developed the technology and we are keeping busy like a bee, we have been able to drastically evolve and improve the level of technology. But with the evolution of technology, it also left behind, its residual and that has turned out to be the vulnerability and the loops of the technology which could lead to a situation of hacking, where the important information and data might be accessed in the purpose of theft, modification or destruction etc. So, these hackers turned to be the troubled-genius of the information systems where they can combat and breach the enabled security in your device and can leave you mugged.

In recent times, the need for the Information security also increased, where someone can help in preventing the situation like these and can save you from the moments of apocalypse. Now, these people who are the nemesis to their unethical counterparts, have been able to help us in providing the proactive information security and save us from going into sleepless nights. They ensure the safety and the security of our data and information and guard it from any catastrophe. We call them "Ethical Hackers". So, how does it sound to be an ethical hacker? Does it fancy you? If yes, there are a few brief points you might want to look and understand to be a professional ethical hacker.

• You need to understand the various kind of hacking, which can be classified into White Hat, Gray Hat and non-ethical hacking. You need to evaluate the all three to understand them very well. Only a deep knowledge can help in combating any sort of break or unauthorized access in the information system. Also, it can help you in ensuring the proactive security to the systems, while discovering the vulnerability of the Information systems. A deep knowledge and potential skills can help you in becoming a good ethical hacker.
• You need to identify the basic requirements to be an ethical hacker. Whether you need to undertake a course or a diploma or you need any other licensing done. Make sure you do your homework well and then go hit the bullseye.
• Upon successful evaluation of the basic requirements, you need to run the horses of your brain where you need to decide, which would you like to work in hardware or software securities? Believe me, this field is so vast and you do want to take the chances of riding on two boats at a time. Master a formula first and then go for another. So, choose it carefully.
• Along with your conventional diploma or the certificate program, do not forget the UNIX operating system. It is known as the bible of the hacking, and it is known as the original operating system developed and designed by the hackers only. Make sure you learn it well.
• Once you acquired your knowledge, it's the time to know your strength and your weaknesses. Now, give yourself a try and implement your knowledge by practicing doing things on your own system. Write down the complete analysis and then go for another round. Go until you succeed and turn highly skilled.
• Last but not the least; identify the commercial aspect of your program. Find out the job prospects or running your own showmanship. There are many lucrative jobs and positions required in the market with both private and government sector or you can make yourself a living in facilitating the services. Once you get with it, Jobs done.

Congratulations, you have become a professional hacker. Go, on and save the world.

Many people would be confused to read about the benefits of ethical hacking. To them, such a concept does not exist as hacking in itself is automatically viewed as unethical or illegal. Indeed, hacking is normally all about the breaching of barriers that have been put in place for the protection and security of the people. So to talk in terms of benefits of such acts is naturally quite alien to people (at least initially.)

Initially hacking really was all about the breaking of laws and accessing information that should not normally be accessed by certain groups of people. But life is never as black and white as we may first perceive. As such, it will come as a surprise to a good number of people that several major computer companies such as IBM, Microsoft, and Apple all have a large and dedicated team of hackers. Yes, you read that right.

They are not, however, breaking any laws so far as anybody can tell. No, these types of hackers are there for entirely good reasons. They are used as security testers for all sorts of programs. Basically, whenever a company comes up with a program, they’ll usually bring it to their team of hackers who will then have a go at it (“hack”) to see how many holes in security the program has.

They will see if the program can be exploited in anyway and then return it to the programmers along with a list of the vulnerabilities found. This is just one of the benefits of ethical hacking. The program can then be fixed, or strengthened, and sent back again to the hackers to confirm whether there are still any problems with it.

The aforementioned is just one example of the benefits in carrying out hacking. Did you know that there are actually courses being taught on this subject as the demand for hackers has actually increased? As the world becomes ever more reliant on computers, the potential damage that can be caused by a hacker, or groups of hackers, has grown to whole new levels. This is not something large companies can afford to ignore.

As such, learning how to be a hacker can lead to a very promising career indeed, working for one of the many major companies. As discussed, there are several good reasons for ethical hacking to be carried out “in-house” and all of them can help companies potentially save millions of dollars, and minimize the risk of ruining their hard earned reputation with their customers and peers. It is not only the companies who benefit but the people who buy their programs as well.

A team of good hackers can make sure that a program is as safe as possible, making the work of any would-be hacker that many times harder, often forcing them to move on to easier targets. This makes sure that any programs in wide circulation will rarely be tampered with and help protect the privacy and integrity of the computers of people all around the world.

What Is Ethical Hacking?

Also known as Intrusion Testing or Penetration Testing, Ethical Hacking is a computer and network based expertise to detect loopholes in an IT system and fix them accordingly. The ethical hackers are well versed in computer and networking algorithms. Such experts intrude into security system on behalf of their owners to ensure that the system is not vulnerable to malicious hackers.

Ethical hackers are employed to enhance safety potentiality of a computer system to specifically prevent external threats from attacking it. With internet consumption skyrocketing worldwide, ethical hackers have become integral workforce of any IT security industry today.

Industry Status

In the United State alone, the ethical hacking was expected to be a US $3.8 billion industry. It was also estimated that around 77,000 ethical hackers will be required in every year in India. Sadly, the country produces just 15000 such hackers in a year currently.

No doubt, ethical hacking is mounting at a very significant pace worldwide. It therefore offers a wide spectrum of lucrative job opportunities for those who want to make career in it.

Skill Sets Required

First of all, the aspirant should have good grasp of writing programming languages such as C+, C++, Perl, Python and Ruby. An experience with Web Applications, PHP, and Microsoft.NET will be very useful for the aspirants.

If you are well versed in Assembly Language, you can become a part of a team working as Disassembled Binaries Analyst.

Knowledge of Operating Systems (Microsoft Windows, Linux etc.) and Network Devices (switches, routers, firewall etc.) are also very useful in this respect.

A basic familiarity with TCP/IP protocols such as SMTP, ICMP and HTTP is also vital.

The aspirants should have good soft skills including adaptability and resourcefulness to troubleshoot any unforeseeable snags during testing software and systems.

Remuneration

An ethical hacker with no prior working experience in this field can work as an intern for months with annual package of Rs 2.5 lakhs in India. Thus the rate of growth in remuneration increases as per the work experience increases.

A professional with more than 5 years experience can work in an information security industry on handsome annual package of Rs 12 lakhs.

In conclusion, ethnic hacking can be one of the lucrative career options for the aspirants. With mounting popularity worldwide, the aspirant can work in reputed IT Company in any part of the world. The scope of ethnic hacking is very large and wide today.

A California criminal defense attorney defends people from criminal cases they’re in like cyber computer hacking. What is this exactly? Computer hacking is simultaneously an art and science, for the people who make an effort to crack into protected or unprotected systems. It is also considered to be art, because it entails imagination which is equivalent to the painting of any gorgeous scenery, and science due to its technical factors. People exercising dishonest hacking, generally tend to rob private information, change a corporation’s financial data, break safety codes to achieve unauthorized system access, or perform additional harmful activities. There are 2 kinds of people who enjoy computer hacking, namely those who acquire a desire for computer hacking out of basic intellectual curiosity, and others with less noble motives. But the common trait among all hackers is that they have technological savvy, are prepared to make risks and are passionate about numerous programming languages.

Computer hacking is most popular among teens and young adults, though there are many older hackers at the same time. Many hackers are true technology lovers who enjoy learning more about how computers work and consider computer hacking an “art” form. They often enjoy programming and have expert-level abilities in one specific program. For these individuals, computer hacking is a real life use of their problem-solving abilities. It’s an opportunity to show their capabilities, not an opportunity to harm other people.

What could happen to you in the event you hack a computer? Well, computer users have a right to secure personal information under the data protection act. Not abiding with this act may have serious implications like large fines or imprisonment. The degree of punishment depends upon the severity of the damage caused by computer hacking. Hacking is really a computer crime. Computer hacking can lead to robbery of critical business information. Important information about business clients and customers can be misplaced or manipulated by means of computer hacking. Hacking may uncover email addresses to hackers which they may use for spamming and hampering email privacy.

As the 2 sides of the coin, hacking also has its own benefits and drawbacks. In the present day competitive world, many companies hire hackers as an important component of their technical group to guarantee security of their company’s key essentials. In the business war there are many who attempt to extract important information and data of famous companies through hacking. Therefore, it becomes really substantial for companies to hire hackers.

A California criminal defense attorney defines a hacker as “A particular person who delights in having an intimate knowledge of the internal workings of a system, computers and computer networks in particular.” So while the term has come to mean someone who illegally “hacks” into different computer systems and the like (and it can still mean that), it also is an honorary term to describe someone who thinks outside the box and desires to find out how everything works.Don’t say it like it’s a bad thing, say the 2000 people who attended this year’s conference. The participants would rather that you realize their concept of the term “hacker:” “A person who enjoys exploring the details of programmable systems and the way to reach their capabilities, as opposed to most users, who choose to learn just the minimum necessary.”

When most people think about computer security the word hacker comes to their mind. Another word that is also associated with bad computer behavior is cracker and most of the time the two words are used interchangeably but they are not the same thing.

A hacker is a person who has a great deal of computing skills and enjoys the challenges of solving technical issues. This includes breaking and infiltrating computers and networks. The aim of hackers is not to cause damage but the technical aspects and how to overcome them fascinates them and they see it as learning and as a status symbol among the hacker community.

An individual does not give himself the title hacker but it is left up to the community to bestow that title if the person has demonstrated the required knowledge and proven it. A hacker feels that information should be free so they document how they went about overcoming certain difficulties so others can learn from them. This sharing raises the status of the individual concerned and as a whole the community benefits.

Unlike a hacker the aim of a cracker is to cause mischief and gain some benefit by causing harm to the owner of the computer or network broken into eg by stealing credit card details or installing some malicious software.

Hackers see crackers as lowlifes and try very hard to distinguish themselves from them but this is not easy especially when the media insists on calling everyone a hacker.

The difference between a hacker and a cracker may not seem a lot to the average person because after all of them break into unauthorized computers and networks but in reality there is a big difference because what matters is what the person does after he / she infiltrates a network.

With the advent of the film WarGames, to the recent prosecution and suicide of information freedom activist and coder, Aaron Swartz, hackers and hacking have become part of our language, imagination, and cultural landscape. With their beginnings in the 1950s to the present, our collective conception of the hacker has gone from hero to antihero; from political prankster to rebellious teenager, to criminal master-mind out to undermine the social fabric.

Embedded within the archetype of this trickster figure are also our unconscious fears and ambiguous connections to technology. Because of the direct link with technology, hacking and hacker culture is especially illustrative of our relationship to fear of technology, and its power and control. This is so because technology is not only about the physicality of machines; it is also about our relationship to them.

If we look at the language of computers themselves, it is apparent that the idea of ​​relationship was built in from the beginning. In one example, powerful mainframe and UNIX systems which came before the PC are called hosts. After a network connection handshake, if allowed, a new user can login as a guest. This relationship also rides on the claims that technology is essentially hostile and that managing technology requires knowledge and control. When we speak of computers as user-friendly there is the implicit assumption that this is the exception-that there has been some sort of modification to change the essential wild nature of the beast.

We have windows, wizard programs, and applications that shield us from the underlying complexity of the binary code of ones and zeros. These manageable layers that distance the user from the confusing innards of the machine shield us from the workings that might come loose. It is this confusion and lack of knowledge that the hacker, through social engineering can compromise, and can gain control of technology. As one who has the expertise, the programming guru has not only engineered the technology, but is the only one most capable to modify, and then hack. The archetypal hacker that becomes not only the monster's maker and keeper, but is also demonized as monster.

Added to the mix of our relationship to technology, we have gone from a culture of openly sharing research and ideas, to a culture of commoditizing information for profit. To be able to sell information requires protecting it as one does a secret-behind securely locked doors. The first generation of hackers was thought of as computer geniuses who went on to form start-up companies and then huge corporations such as Apple and Microsoft. They were also the same generation who founded the open-source movement. However, the second generation hackers, their children, grew up with PCs in their homes and schools.

If we consider our government and corporations as Senex (old man) institutions, the first generation hackers represent the status quo, the old guard that the Puer aeternus (eternal boy) second generation rebelled against. This boy culture used mastery over technology to define their independence and to confront adult authority. Not surprising then, each generation sets up the cycle for the next.

It is no coincidence that we language and call upon software wizard applications to help us with our computer alchemy. Because of our relationship with technology and our distance from its internal workings, its unfathomable processes can take on a mystical quality to the uninitiated. Because the veiled, uncanny operations of the microchip have hidden subtlety, we might view this power as associated to the feminine realm. Further, if we look upon the machine as a reinvention of nature, it becomes more evident that it takes some authority to master it; a powerful operator to tame it.

We are both in awe of the machine as mysterious beast, and its sorcerer who can write and cast the spells to gentle and control it. This wonderment in turn gives the magus hacker command and control over those whose relationship with technology is inferior. As in WarGames, with our technological ignorance, we may view the hacker as boy genius who both presents the WOPR (War Operation Plan Response) creature and in turn saves us from its destruction of humanity.

Or, at the other end of the spectrum, we may view the hacker as criminal seeker of credit card numbers, or even further, as terrorist who is out to seize government secrets. All of these views of the hacker, old or new, put them in a superior position of knowledge that inspires fear in those who are without the same capabilities to understand the technology that now rules and controls our lives.

Where does this irrational fear come from? It sees to stem from the wild and vast aspect of the Internet; its uncontrollable beast nature, its ability to shape shift and grow at exponential rates. Certainly this wily nature does not conform to Senex sensibilities; to the management of command and control.

If a prime indicator of power is progress; we can see that the desire to control and censor the Internet correlates to its growth. In its unpresented expansion of connections and Websites, the Internet is growth without a center, and without a brain. It is growth that lacks a teleological progress. Its survival and rapid progress is random instead of plotted; its survival is like that of kudzu rather than a civilized pruned English garden. This instead is a wild power reminiscent of nature. It is no wonder that our dis-ease with its power over us; our lack of control instead would require an ease with chaos. And it is just this chaos that breeds its creative form.

If we consider the Internet as a political form is it possible to see that its mutability, creation, and existence does speak to its nature as a collective creation. Its psychological field made up of millions of intersecting and overlapping circles of potentials and new discoveries, constantly building and reverberating into chaos, yet constellation into meaning with every new intentional act of awareness. This psychic wholeness that is available to all also creates fear and a threat when it comes at the scale and speed of the Internet.

From the beginning of computers during World War II as code-breaking machines, the first generation of computer scientists linked its evolution to the interests of confidentiality and national security. Since that time, in our efforts to secure information of all types from military secrets to research to sell, the function of computers, computer scientists, and hackers still revolves around code-making and code breaking.

This security entitlements secrecy that generates unconscious dynamics at all levels of the individual and society. It is the image of the hacker in particular, as a symbol in popular culture that gives a face or image to the fears, uncertainties, and doubts that accompanie technological changes.

With the present generation that has grown up only knowing computers and the Internet, not as something new, but as a ubiquitous part of daily life, will our fears subside, or will they become unconscious to the point of needing compensation as some other monster yet defined? Or will the freedom to access information, and the freedom to connect become a given instead of a threat?

Every time the public thinks it has a handle on cyber crime, hackers come up with something new to throw into the mix. Reports this week name the newest targets for cyber criminals: online brokerage houses, which have lost millions of dollars in an online fraud that is apparently the latest in the world of hacker couture.

Reports from online broker E-Trade Financial Corp state that the company has been compromised by hacker attacks originating from crime rings in Thailand and Eastern Europe. The hackers recently cost E-Trade clients up to $18 million through tactics that include hacking into customer accounts and making unauthorized stock trades. The scam starts with the hackers installing keyloggers either on a victim’s unguarded personal computer or on a public computer station, such as those found in a library or hotel. The keyloggers are used to gain access to a customer’s brokerage account, at which point the hacker will wait until the customer logs off, log himself in with the victim’s user name and password, and use the account to sell the customers existing stock shares.

The money made from the sale of those stocks is used to purchase microcap stocks, which are low value stocks that are inexpensive and usually are not traded in large volume. The purchase drives up the value of this stock, shares of which the hacker has already bought at a lower price through another account. The hacker is then able to sell his own stock and make a profit. Meanwhile, the victim is left with an account full of unwanted, low value stock and has lost any money earned from their previous portfolio.

E-Trade and other companies affected by the scam, such as DT Ameritrade, plan to reimburse the money their customers lost, though the companies are not required by law to do so. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) are investigating the issue, and many online brokers are stepping up to the plate and offering customers information on internet security and access to security software.

In the spirit of this gesture, the E-Trade Financial Corp website lists some tips that can help you protect your account and personal information both on and off their site:

• Use anti-virus software.
• Use a personal firewall package.
• Use current versions of software and operating systems (and keep them patched/updated).
• Secure your wireless network.
• Use your own computer.
• Choose strong passwords and change them regularly.
• Use a unique ID and password.
• Protect yourself against identity theft.
• Use the strongest encryption available.
• Empty your temporary Internet files or cache folder when finished.
• Test your system for vulnerabilities.
• Be prepared for problems.

Additionally, it is recommended that online traders avoid trading or checking brokerage accounts from public computers and avoid opening or clicking links in any emails sent from an online broker, as the email could easily be part of a phishing scam. If you think you have been a victim of online trading fraud, contact the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at http://www.ic3.gov/.

In today’s digital world, small, medium and big businesses are facing the biggest threats from hackers. Any computer hacking attack, if successful, can create a lot of problem to networks and in fact all the critical information stored in the various computers within the network. In the field of IT, there is a growing need for professionals having ethical hacking courses to work for them and provide security to their computers and networks. Known as white hat hackers or ethical hackers, these professionals are expert in the area of anti-hacking techniques. They work for preventing the motives of malicious hackers from stealing or damaging important data and ensure the safety and protection of computer systems and networks.

People with ethical hacking trainings work to provide security to IT systems. At times, if required ethical hackers can even break into any other system. But the reason for doing so must be a genuine one for the safety of an organization or company. In fact, both black hat hackers and white hat hackers do the same thing, but the major line of discrimination is that an ethical hacker has altruistic motivations.

There are many major threats and issues related to computer hacking that one must be aware of to understand Information Security in the true sense of the terms. Today there are many some basic threats that you may face as an individual or as an organization such as:

Theft of Passwords

E-mail based Threats

E-mail based Extortion

Launch of Malicious Programmes (Trojans)

Internet Time Theft

Here are some major corporate threats that needs to be handled by professionals having knowledge of ethical hacking and lots more:

Web Defacement

Corporate Espionage

Website based Launch of Malicious Code Cheating and Frauds.

Exchange of Criminal Ideas and Tools

Cyber Harassment

Forged Websites

Not only this, there are some also online threats that need to be also taken care of, such as:

E-mail Spamming

Theft of Software, Electronic Records, Computer Hardware, etc.

Cyber Stalking

E-mail Bombing

Morphing

Denial of Service Attacks

Apart from this, there are some other threats too related to computer hacking such as:

Theft of Information

Email Forgery

Theft of E-Cash, Credit Card Numbers, Online Banking Accounts etc.

Protecting your computer and network can be done by ethical hackers, but as far security is concerned, the first step is to secure the hardware on which all the valuable information is stored and by which it moves across the network. Basically, it means limiting who is able to actually touch the computer, and what a person can do with it if they do gain on-site access. To protect your computers, network, and data from all types of damage and loss that can be done through computer hacking, however physical security can make a lot of difference. Well in physical security, computers must also be properly protected from natural disasters and accidental damage in addition to deliberate acts.