Britain faces a new threat from the sharp increase in cyber-crime with
sophisticated hackers leaving the government far behind in its attempts to catch
them, according to the world's leading expert in online security.
Mikko Hyppönen, who regularly works with Scotland Yard, the FBI, the US
National Security Agency and Interpol, said popular networking sites such as
Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin were now prime targets for criminals.
"It's happening all over the world," said Hyppönen, who refuses to use
Facebook. "These guys steal an individual's profile, then email everyone in
their contacts with a link and a subject heading like 'check this out'. You
trust the email because it's from your friend. So you click on the link and
before you know it all your security information has been stolen. I don't use
Facebook because I know who's watching and I don't want these guys looking at
pictures of me and my family. People think no one phishing will be able to make
money from Facebook, but cyber-criminals can. This is only the beginning. You
will see this happening more and more."
