Pandora’s box has been opened and the explosion of both personal and non-personal information seems to have no limits and is increasing exponentially. And according to the National Opinion Poll conducted in January 2007, half of the UK harbors “deep mistrust” due to security concerns. Not only is there deep public mistrust, but the House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology is investigating the need for personal Internet security due to the increasing use of computers in the home, the spread of broadband, the Internet banking and commerce (Brent MacLean “A New Look at Internet Security” Monday September 10, 2007).

They all talk at length (ISP Associations, Richard Clayton of the Cambridge Security Lab, John Carr of the Children’s Charities Coalition on Internet Safety, as well as Johnathan Zittrain of the Oxford Internet Institute, and many others), gathering evidence of information and compiling it. all for what? Unfortunately, most businesses and citizens still do not take the threat of cybersecurity seriously.

With economies reliant on certain infrastructures involving the internet and the sharing of information between key service providers, one would think that an outage would undoubtedly result in loss of life, loss of property and collapse of public trust. Worldwide. Today, simple domestic hacking is not the problem that will cause devastating destruction like those engineered by terrorist activities targeting nuclear power plants, banking systems, hospitals, air traffic control and domain name servers, the possibilities are limitless. However, it is imperative to remove these personal and public computers from the arsenal of cyberterrorists and cybercriminals. With 225 million Internet users in North America (Nielson-Netratings), the personal computer dominates the Internet and at the same time is the most vulnerable. Millions of PCs are under the control of “zombie masters”. Red Herring, the technical business magazine, estimated that in 2005 172,000 computers were hijacked and taken over each day and turned into “zombies” and under the control of a hacker. In 2007, Secure Computing, which tracks the Internet landscape, identified more than 500,000 new zombies a day that were hijacked and under the control of “bot” herders. It triples the level just two years earlier. The FBI says that because of their widely distributed capabilities, botnets are a growing threat to national security, the national information infrastructure, and the economy.

The total number of compromised computers on the Internet is unknown; however, Vince Cerf, father of the Internet, estimates that around 150 million PCs are currently connected to the Internet and are part of botnets. Based on reports from the FBI and other independent researchers, the number mentioned above may be significantly higher. The typical home computer is connected to “always on” broadband installations, severely compromised with malware (viruses, spyware, Trojans, keyloggers, etc.), generally with no degradation of its ordinary capabilities, and following the orders of its “master”. zombie”. Hacking, virus spreading, denial of service (DoS), personal data theft, identity fraud, keyloggers, spamming, pornography distribution, webcam spying , click fraud and many other cyber exploits are now almost entirely orchestrated through botnets.

Computers were not designed for security; They were designed to perform complex jobs. As complex as computers are, each computer has 65,000 open ports (gates) to the Internet; a simple element that leaves them vulnerable. You may be wondering why a person would want to control a pack of zombies, there are several reasons. For exploits, whether it’s a denial of service, to bring down the servers of banks, large corporations, or a competitor. Inherently, every time a computer says “hello” to another computer, that computer must say “hello” back. A “bot herder” with tens of thousands of computers under his control has them all say hello to his computer or a network of computers at the same time, what do you think happens? Most likely the responding PC or server is overwhelmed and crashes, it just can’t respond to so many hello’s. A botnet can be bought on the black market to carry out attacks. Zombie virus kits can be purchased online, requiring little or no technical knowledge and providing the breeding ground for future international cyber criminals and the training ground for cyber gangs (terrorists).

What are we going to do? Implementing new laws when it is already difficult to apply and, in some cases, unenforceable and with cross-border criminal investigations, not to mention that the resources required are enormous and costly with few results.

How do we secure the Internet now? One idea is to improve administrative, regulatory and technical solutions to produce a more secure network and then apply resources to strengthen banks, airports, power plants from the insecure Internet that we have allowed to develop. It starts with protecting the end user and raising awareness that we are all responsible for Internet security and that we all need to “become responsible cyber citizens.”

We people have to make an effort to ensure that our machines run clean and free of malware (viruses, spyware, Trojans, etc.). That means current patches, updates, enhancements, and professional software technologies. It also forces all of us to make sure we haven’t compromised by having a security technician check our computers and make sure there’s no malware present. There is one service, the Invisus PC Security Service, that will provide a fully managed computer security service that includes unlimited security technical support plus several additional benefits that will earn you the title of “Responsible Cyber ​​Citizen.”

Requiring ISPs to scan data traffic going to and from computers connected to their networks for unusual traffic patterns, and then denying them Internet access until they have been determined not to be zombies. We may also ask the ISP to provide remote patches, updates and software upgrades. However, ISPs will focus on cost, liability, autonomy, support and delivery. Or have our ISPs provide a value-added service similar to the subscription-based services offered by the Invisus PC security service that not only provides a seamless computing experience, but is a total security package that blocks end users’ computer for a minimal monthly fee.

To be successful we must unite security and comfort. The consumer does not want to be responsible for their safety. All they want to know is how to turn their computer on and off. Unfortunately, we can’t have our cake and eat it too. Now is the time to learn how to keep a safe and healthy computer (saving the consumer time and money) free from infections that keep spreading and infecting other computers. You don’t need to be technically savvy to operate a computer, like your car, you don’t need to be a technically savvy mechanic, but it’s important to make sure your car is in good working order not just for its performance purpose, for safety of others. We have laws to ensure the safety of cars and their owners are safe. Those who are ignorant of how to keep a car safe must perform certain responsibilities to ensure the safety of their vehicle for others as well as the car owner. To ensure the safety of others, we require a certain level of education and knowledge of traffic rules. You cannot drive without insurance or a driver’s license, which means you have performed and understand a certain level of instruction.

I may not agree but unfortunately, as impossible as it may be in practice, politically and ethically, to require all consumers… including the ignorant, the poor and even the rich, to be legally responsible for keeping their computer in a state of reasonable security, the fact is that you are guilty until proven innocent. So the next best approach might be to offer to try to educate them, but we probably can’t enforce a “computer driver’s license.” Again, we may be able to offer an alternative by requiring the consumer to take steps to ensure that their computers are repaired and updated with professional security software and are inspected and cleared; malware-free.