"Head Hackers" Become a Growing Menace

"Head hacking" - when an attacker tries to fool an individual into allowing access to his/her computer system - is becoming a major security problem, according to Neil Barrett.

Barrett, a columnist for IT Week, says there is a growing interest in head hacking, also known as social engineering. The most obvious threat, Barrett says, is when a hacker phones a helpdesk and asks for assistance, usually pretending to be either a panicked employee or a senior manager demanding access to a remote server.

Barrett says there have been a number of recent "head hacking" attacks, including widely publicized attempts to infect computers with Trojan horse programs by means of e-mail attachments that appear to have been sent from trusted organizations.

The answer to this problem, Barrett says, is to educate users about the risks of head hacking, and to adequately monitor both insiders and outsiders. It is crucial that companies take steps to prevent attacks, rather than ignoring the threat that exists.

To read Barrett's full column , Click HERE>>