Jack Pineda, cyber crime expert at Microsoft – User education crucial for online safety

(Jack Pineda) Each second, 12 people on the internet become victims of cyber crime, amounting to more than a million people a day. Malicious programs cost the global economy USD 3 billion in lost productivity and growth annually, and the awareness of this threat might help us protect organizations, software and people. Dealing with threats and risks requires people, organizations and governments from all over the world to make a joint effort.

This is how Jack Pineda, Microsoft's cyber crime expert, sees the current state of online safety and the economic consequences caused by hackers and their harmful programs. In his interview for eKapija, he says that cyber crime entails remote takeover of devices, theft of personal data, sending spam messages, phishing and targeting bank accounts and emphasizes that this is a global problem, which no organization can solve by itself.

– Microsoft Security Intelligence Report (SIR) analyzes threats of misuse, sensitive points and malicious programs by using internet provider data and more than 600 million computers throughout the world. The latest SIRv20 report, covering the period from July till December 2015, points out that the number of weak points in various industries increased by 9.4% in the second half of 2015, compared to the first half of the year – Pineda explains.

– Commercial misuse is still a popular tool among some cyber attackers. These attacks increased by a third from the third to the fourth quarter of 2015. In last year's second half, they remained the most frequent type of misuse, with four times as many occurrences compared to other types of threats.

eKapija: What are the most frequent types of cyber attacks?

– A typical, usual risk, lies in opening attachments or links of unknown or suspicious origin. Some malicious programs are designed to automatically download to the device upon opening a link or an attachment.

Since 2008, the Microsoft Digital Crimes Unit has terminated or obstructed the work of 15 notorious botnets, in cooperation with representatives of legal authorities and private and public sector partners, in order to protect users from malicious programs. We are working on protecting users from various threats from malicious programs, including botnets. Furthermore, in the domain of intellectual property, we are dealing with crimes related to pirated software, as well as the link between piracy and malicious software. We are also protecting children from online exploitation and preventing frauds under the guise of alleged technical support. These are just some threats our team meets all the time.

eKapija: In fighting online threats, you are also cooperating with state authorities?

– One of the technically and logistically most demanding operations we've had was the one regarding Citadel malware. This global cyber crime circle was responsible for the loss of over half a billion dollars worldwide and it impacted more than five million people in 90 countries. For this reason, our unit cooperated closely with the FBI in order to carry out a coordinated operation of interfering with 1.462 individual botnets using Citadel malware. The malicious program used the victims' devices to secretly steal passwords and information on online banking transactions. It was even capable of transferring screenshots of transactions in real time.

eKapija: What is the best way for private and corporate users to protect themselves from cyber crime?

– We believe that customers and companies should turn to solutions based on cloud technologies, focusing on options with strong characteristics meant to protect their privacy and safety. Protection of our users' data and their online activities from malware is one of the ways for us to fulfill our mission.

Some simple steps towards protection include installing antivirus and antispyware programs from reliable sources and not opening spam mail and visiting suspicious websites. Download an antivirus program or a reliable antimalware and install updates regularly. Beware of ads and promos that look too good to be true and create strong passwords containing a combination of letters, numbers and symbols.

Furthermore, create different passwords for the router and the Wi-Fi at home and avoid plugging in unknown USB devices to your computer. Be careful when opening attachments and instant messages. When visiting social networks, download programs from websites you trust.

eKapija: Which security solutions do you recommend? How important is user education in this area?

– Education is extremely important. This is why we at Microsoft are dedicated to educational and awareness-raising campaigns aiming to highlight the risks in this area. Microsoft has various suggestions as to how to prevent harmful activities caused by malicious programs and other security threats, as well as how to detect and avoid problems.

Our company seeks to provide an all-encompassing and integrated portfolio of programs and technologies meeting the needs of all users and offering advantages such as centralized visibility and risk control, reduction of exposure to threats thanks to top technologies and thorough approach to defense, discreet integration within the existing IT systems, as well as within the security portfolio.

eKapija: How secure are Microsoft's programs?

– Another thing I'd like to point out is that newer Windows versions are better at avoiding malicious programs and threats compared to older ones. Windows 10 is the safest version so far. Windows Defender, our free antimalware service, enables you to automatically schedule quick periodical scans of your PC and provides you with digest notifications following scans and detection of threats.

For professional clients, Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection (WDATP) discovers, examines and reacts to advanced malicious attacks on networks and provides a more thorough threat analysis and attack detection. Windows Information Protection enables professional users to separate the personal from the organization data and helps them protect corporate data wherever they are.

eKapija: Where is Serbia when it comes to hacker attacks?

– In the final quarter of 2015, 31.8% computers in Serbia had contacts with malicious software, compared to the percentage of 20.8% globally. Furthermore, Microsoft Software Removal Tool discovered and removed malware from 48.5 of every 1,000 computers scanned in Serbia in the same period (compared to 16.9 globally).

eKapija: What are Microsoft's projections regarding cyber safety in the future?

– Awareness of threats will remain very important as cyber attacks grow more sophisticated. Regardless of what the future holds, it can help us protect our organizations, programs and people. Managing such threats and risks requires organized cooperation between people, organizations and governments worldwide – Jack Pineda concludes his interview for eKapija.

M.A.

Microsoft Corporation Washington

Microsoft

Jack Pineda

onlajn safety

cyber crime

hackers

malicious programs

malware

spam

phishing

Microsoft Security Intelligence Report

SIR

Microsoft Digital Crimes Unit

botnet

pirated software

child protection online

Citadel

FBI

cloud technologies

antivirus

antispyware

Microsoft Windows

Windows 10

Windows Defender

Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection

Microsoft Software Removal Tool