Posts Tagged ‘fraud’

Documents obtained by The New York Times said the European Commission is proposing a regulation that compels “Web sites to tell consumers why their data is being collected and retain it for only as long as necessary. If data is stolen, sites would have to notify regulators within 24 hours. It also offer[ed] consumers the right to transport their data from one service to another — to deactivate a Facebook account, for example, and take one’s trove of pictures and posts and contacts to Google Plus.”

Legal systems in every part of the world are working to come to grips with who owns online personal data, what happens to it after it’s posted, and what’s fair game to use for marketing.

Viviane Reding, the European Commission’s vice president for justice, told The Times, “Companies must be transparent about what they are doing, clear about which data is being used for what.”

If the European Parliament passes the new law, it would still not go into effect before 2014 and would not directly affect American consumers. As to American companies…well, they would only have to deal with one privacy law for the European Continent instead of the current twenty-seven different ones; Germany, a special case, has different data protection laws for each of its sixteen federal states. On the other hand, penalties for breaking the law could be as high as two percent of a company’s annual global revenue.

Plus, it’s not always easy to adhere to the letter of newly proposed law. Microsoft’s Ronald Zink, chief operating officer for European affairs, brought up concerns in discussing Microsoft’s Xbox Kinect system, which stores body measurements so it can visually recognize repeat players. He questioned whether the law would require players to provide consent every time they played a game, even if the information never left the game console. “We have designed the product to be private. We put a lot of thought into how this controls our work in terms of privacy by design.”

One of the law’s most controversial provisions is an Internet user’s right to demand that his or her accumulated data on a particular site be deleted forever. Viviane Reding states, “When a citizen has asked to get [personal data] back, then the data has to be given back. When an individual no longer wants his data to be processed, it will be deleted.”

In her New York Times article, Somini Sengupta cites critics who say deleting an individual’s personal data is not that simple and clear cut. “Data does not always stay in one place; if it is transferred to another company it cannot easily be withdrawn. A company might license some of the data it collects to a third party to analyze market sentiments or social trends: reviews of kebab joints in Amsterdam or public opinion about burqas. Moreover, it may be less feasible to erase someone’s credit history, for instance, or employment record than to, say, do away with her shopping history on Amazon.”

German Green Party member, Malte Spitz, said the proposed law should restrict how companies hold onto personal information. “Lots of companies are collecting as much information as possible, and lots of this information isn’t really necessary.”

According to Reuters, Facebook, which has been investigated by European regulators for the way it retains data, warned against rules that might not keep up with the pace of change on the Internet, saying, “There is a risk that an excessively litigious environment would impede the development of innovative services that can bring real benefit to European citizens.”

Europe, the U.S., or anywhere in the world, you can count on ThreatMetrix™ to provide both online security and custom data privacy.

Without relying on passwords, user names and cookies to protect its clients, the ThreatMetrix™ Cybercrime Defender Platform uses anonymous data from the computer, its connection to the Internet and contextual data from a transaction to sniff out cybercriminals. The ThreatMetrix Cybercrime Defender Platform is the first industry solution that integrates sophisticated malware detection and advanced device identification technologies in a single, unified platform. This unified approach to cybersecurity is a game changer. By integrating malware detection and device identification with shared, centralized intelligence, ThreatMetrix delivers the unique ability to protect the integrity of entire online transactions.

Use Google?  Incidentally, does anybody out there know if Yahoo still does searches? Bing? Okay — some serious questions: Do you have a YouTube account? Use Gmail? Do you know what Google’s up to?

Everybody with an account on Gmail and YouTube already has an idea something’s in the works. That’s because they have to use the same name and password to logon to Gmail and YouTube. In fact, that’s the way it is across all Google platforms except for Google Wallet, Chrome and Google Books. So, what if you don’t feel like changing your user name or password?  Well, Google took a page from Mike C’s book.  Mike was a guy we used to play touch football with in college.  If he couldn’t play quarterback, he’d take his regulation professional ball and go home.

Mike played quarterback — a lot.  And, if you want to maintain both YouTube and Gmail accounts, you’ll have to play along, too.

So what’s this all about? Google says the move will help the company to better tailor its ads to users’ tastes, benefitting consumers. Notes Cecilia Kang in the Washington Post, “When someone is searching for the word “jaguar,” Google would have a better idea of whether the person was interested in the animal or the car. Or, the firm might suggest e-mailing contacts in New York when it learns you are planning a trip there.”

Common Sense Media chief executive James Steyer observes, “Google’s new privacy announcement is frustrating and a little frightening. Even if the company believes that tracking users across all platforms improves their services, consumers should still have the option to opt out — especially the kids and teens who are avid users of YouTube, Gmail and Google Search.”

Jeffrey Chester, executive director of the privacy advocacy group, the Center for Digital Democracy, says, “There is no way a user can comprehend the implication of Google collecting across platforms for information about your health, political opinions and financial concerns.”

Added Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass): “It is imperative that users will be able to decide whether they want their information shared across the spectrum of Google’s offerings.”

In a touch of irony…okay, a red-hot branding iron of irony…Google is a partner in sponsoring Data Privacy Day, an annual international celebration designed to promote awareness about privacy and education about best privacy practices.

So, why would Google support Data Privacy Day and in the same calendar quarter change policy to gather even more consumer information?

“The change to its privacy policies,” says Kang in the Post article, “comes as Google is facing stiff competition for the fickle attention of Web surfers. It recently disappointed investors for the first time in several quarters, failing … to meet earnings predictions. Apple, in contrast, reported record earnings …that blew past even the most optimistic expectations.

“Some analysts said Google’s move is aimed squarely at Apple and Facebook — which have been successful in building a unified ecosystem of products that capture people’s attention. Google, in contrast, has adopted a more scattered approach, but an executive explained in interviews that the company wants to create a much more seamless environment across its variety of offerings.”

In addition to consumer privacy advocates, Google’s actions aren’t sitting too well with regulators in Washington. The Washington Post reports, “The company recently settled a privacy complaint by the Federal Trade Commission after it allowed users of its now defunct social network, Google Buzz, to see contacts’ lists from its e-mail program. And a previous decision to use its social network data in search results has been included in a broad Federal Trade Commission investigation, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation is private.”  Well at least some things are still private…more irony…okay a hint of sarcasm.

To keep your company’s and its customers’ online private information private, select ThreatMetrix™. Without relying on passwords, user names and cookies to protect its clients, the ThreatMetrix™ Cybercrime Defender Platform uses anonymous data from the computer, its connection to the Internet and contextual data from a transaction to sniff out cybercriminals. The ThreatMetrix Cybercrime Defender Platform is the first industry solution that integrates sophisticated malware detection and advanced device identification technologies in a single, unified platform. This unified approach to cybersecurity is a game changer. By integrating malware detection and device identification with shared, centralized intelligence, ThreatMetrix delivers the unique ability to protect the integrity of entire online transactions.

Perhaps a little birdie told Twitter to buy a malware company or maybe they took a page from the ThreatMetrix™ playbook. On January 10, ThreatMetrix acquired Australia-based TrustDefender, which provides secure browsing technology to protect against malware and man-in-the-browser (MitB) attacks. Or maybe it was done in advance of Twitter’s new advertising launch? Say, didn’t one of the company’s founders say Twitter would never use advertising as a way to monetize the company? Nah, must’ve been another company with the same name. 

In any case, in preparation for its new ad service, Twitter announced the acquisition of spam and malware protection service, Dasient. Rachael Horwitz, a Twitter spokesperson told Mashable.com that Dasient would be integrated into Twitter’s “revenue engineering team because they have a deep understanding of advertising-platform security issues.” Considering the cybercrime-ridden environment into which Twitter is starting its new ad service, it would seem prudent that first and foremost the company would address security.

According to an Aite Group report (“Know Your Enemy: Successful Online Fraud Mitigation Strategies”), 25 million new, unique strains of malware were released in 2011. That number is projected to grow to 87 million strains by the end of 2015.

A Gartner Group report (“The Five Layers of Fraud Prevention and Using Them to Beat Malware”) containing a survey of 76 U.S. banks found malware was the number one cyberthreat.

Of the advertising platform, Mashable.com reports, “The self-serve platform lets advertisers purchase ads without going through a sales representative. Anyone with a credit card and the desire to utilize ‘Promoted Products’ to boost their brand recognition can get on-board with this service. However, the service is not yet available to the public.”

eMarketer, which does market research and statistics, projected Twitter’s ad-generated revenue could earn the company $399.5 million by 2013. With that kind of money on the table, Twitter would appear to be a magnet for cyberthieves.

Mashable.com observes that Twitter is already the object of malware threats going back to 2010, when “the FTC ruled that Twitter would be subject to a bi-annual security audit after 55 celebrity accounts were hacked, including the accounts of Barack Obama, Britney Spears and Facebook. Spammers have also taken advantage of Twitter’s trending topics in order to target a large amount of people.”

Till now, Twitter’s reputation was on the line with the possibility of a search engine blacklisting any site “overrun” by malware.  However, adding big advertising dollars to the mix raises the stakes considerably and makes the Dasient acquisition a very smart move.

Is buying and integrating a malware company into your company a bit “over the top?”  No worries.  You can still get the best protection on the planet from malware and the full range of cyberthreats from ThreatMetrix.

Without relying on passwords, user names and cookies to protect its clients, the ThreatMetrix™ Cybercrime Defender Platform uses anonymous data from the computer, its connection to the Internet and contextual data from a transaction to sniff out cybercriminals. The ThreatMetrix Cybercrime Defender Platform is the first industry solution that integrates sophisticated malware detection and advanced device identification technologies in a single, unified platform. This unified approach to cybersecurity is a game changer. By integrating malware detection and device identification with shared, centralized intelligence, ThreatMetrix delivers the unique ability to protect the integrity of entire online transactions.

From her meat ensemble to arriving at the Grammys in an egg, Lady Gaga manages to get noticed.  This time she had help in the PR department – and not the kind of help a lady wants or needs.  

According to Dark Reading.com, hackers broke into Lady Gaga’s Facebook page telling 45-million of her closest Facebook friends that she was giving away iPads ala Oprah. Not just iPads — her own customized iPads.

Fans, trying to take advantage of the free offer were directed to a Blogspot page, where they were asked to fill out an online form with their personal information. So far there were no reports what was done with the information.

In addition to Lady Gaga, the phishing attack, which lasted about an hour on Lady Gaga’s Facebook page, also targeted Maroon 5 and Blink 182.

So how can Facebook and other social networking sites prevent “phishermen” from trolling in their sea of customers?  ThreatMetrix™.

ThreatMetrix doesn’t rely on passwords, user names and cookies to protect its clients.  Instead the ThreatMetrix™ Cybercrime Defender Platform uses anonymous data from the computer, its connection to the Internet and contextual data from a transaction to sniff out cybercriminals. The ThreatMetrix Cybercrime Defender Platform is the first industry solution that integrates sophisticated malware detection and advanced device identification technologies in a single, unified platform. This unified approach to cybersecurity is a game changer. By integrating malware detection and device identification with shared, centralized intelligence, ThreatMetrix delivers the unique ability to protect the integrity of entire online transactions.

Zappos, the online shoe outlet owned by Amazon, was hacked putting some 24-million customers’ personal information at risk. PCWorld.com reported that Zappos CEO, Tony Hsieh, told customers that, “names, email addresses, billing and shipping addresses, phone numbers, the last four digits of credit card numbers, and encrypted passwords may have been exposed.”  He added that the good news was that the database storing actual credit card and payment data had not been breached.

Nevertheless, the New York Daily News reported that the company had put out a statement informing customers of the incident and asking them to change their passwords. Customers, who attempted to phone Zappos for information, were met with the sounds of silence. Zappos’ CEO said in a memo, “We have made the hard decision to turn off our phones and direct customers to contact us by email because our phone systems simply aren’t capable of handling so much volume. (If 5% of our customers call, that would be over 1 million phone calls, most of which would not even make it into our phone system in the first place.).”

In an email to employees, which was posted to the Zappos blog, the company said the cyberattack came from a criminal who had gained access to parts of the company’s internal network and systems through a server in Kentucky.

Andrew Storms, director of security operations at nCircle, told PCWorld.com that Zappos’ response to the incident seemed to be appropriate in so far as it had notified customers, and reset all passwords to force customers to create new ones to replace those that may be exposed or cracked as a result of the breach.

Security expert, Neil Roiter, research director for Corero Network Security, observed, “Companies such as Zappos should have technology in place that monitors activity on their networks and reports in real time on suspicious activity or activity that does not conform to security policy. The sooner an organization detects a breach, the more quickly it can contain it.”

ThreatMetrix, the fastest-growing provider of integrated cybercrime prevention solutions, offers superior solutions that can’t be compromised by break-ins. The ThreatMetrix™ Cybercrime Defender Platform helps companies protect customer data and secure transactions against fraud, malware, data breaches, as well as man-in-the browser (MitB) and Trojan attacks. The Platform consists of advanced cybersecurity technologies, including TrustDefender™ ID, which is cloud-based, real-time device identification, as well as malware protection with TrustDefender™ Cloud and TrustDefender™ Client. The company serves a rapidly growing global customer base across a variety of industries, including financial services, e-commerce, payments,social networks, government, and healthcare.

1917:  The Foreign Secretary of the German Empire, Arthur Zimmermann sent a diplomatic proposal from the German Empire to Mexico to make war against the United States. Intercepted by British intelligence and forwarded on to the United States, the Zimmermann Note angered Americans, adding another reason for the U.S. declaration of war against Germany in World War I.

2011: U.S. officials investigate reports that Iranian and Venezuelan diplomats in Mexico are involved in planned cyberattacks against U.S. targets, including nuclear power plants.

According to the Washington Times, a documentary that aired on the Spanish-language TV network, Univision, included secretly recorded footage of Iranian and Venezuelan diplomats being briefed on planned attacks and promising to pass information to their respective governments.

A former computer instructor at the National Autonomous University of Mexico told Univision that he was recruited by a professor there in 2006 to organize a group of student hackers to carry out cyberattacks against the United States, initially at the behest of the Cuban Embassy.

In an undercover sting, an instructor and several students infiltrated the hackers, secretly videotaping Iranian and Venezuelan diplomats.

State Department spokesperson William Ostick called the reports “disturbing,” but added that U.S. officials “don’t have any information at this point to corroborate them.”  However, earlier this year, U.S. prosecutors charged an Iranian official based in Tehran with trying to recruit a Mexican drug cartel to kill the Saudi ambassador to the United States by bombing a Washington restaurant. Ostick noted, “We constantly monitor for possible connections between terrorists and transnational criminals.”

An aide to New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere told the Washington Times that the Univision report, which also said that Iranian extremists were recruiting young Latin American Muslims, is “one of a variety of concerns we have about Iran’s efforts to engage with countries and other actors in the region.”

Stating the obvious: technology has changed dramatically since 1917. People haven’t.  To ensure your company is protected against attack from people, who are out to cause harm or perpetrate fraud, the best solutions come from ThreatMetrix. Without requiring personal identifiable information, such as Social Security Numbers, that can be compromised, ThreatMetrix solutions nab criminals in real-time before they can do real damage. The ThreatMetrix™ Cloud-Based Fraud Prevention Platform uses anonymous data from the computer, its connection to the Internet and contextual data from a transaction to stop criminals whether in Toledo or Tehran.

As Hall of Famer and philosopher Yogi Berra once advised, “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”

“Bloomberg View” columnist Susan Crawford, a law professor at Cardozo School of Law in New York and former special assistant for science, technology and innovation policy to President Barack Obama, would disagree.  She has strong feelings about the road that should be taken – and it’s not necessarily the way her former boss has been pointing toward.

Driven by the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security, the administration has been lobbying for the Senate to pass an omnibus cybersecurity bill. The measure would give Homeland Security centralized authority to designate “Covered Critical Infrastructure.”

Crawford takes exception to “Covered Critical Infrastructure” explaining that “[the term] has been so broadly defined that it could include Internet access sold to ordinary Americans. Under the proposed bill, Homeland Security would have the authority to mandate, among many other things, that access providers extend a National Security Agency snooping program called Einstein 3 to Americans’ Internet activities.

“Under the White House plan, communications companies would submit their cybersecurity plans to auditors [and] Homeland Security would intervene if plans fall short of the agency’s desires.”

Crawford noted that the Congressional Budget Office said a similar bill proposed by Senators Lieberman and Collins would cost $1.5 billion. In addition, she maintains it would create a “giant bureaucratic operating system [that’s the] opposite of the kind of agile, innovative response needed to counter online threats.”

Instead of addressing every internet issue, Crawford says the emphasis should be on thwarting the most dangerous threats. “Rather than worrying about YouTube, we should focus on protecting dams and nuclear-power plants from catastrophic sabotage.”

Another major problem she sees in the administration’s approach is “the supply-chain mandates that will make it even harder for federal workers to use up-to-date technology.”  As proof she offers Deputy Defense Secretary William Lynn’s observation that “the iPhone took only 24 months to develop, but Pentagon procurement processes already take seven or eight years.”

Crawford thinks it would be better if the government could take advantage of innovative bargains developed by a competitive marketplace.

In place of a centralized approach, Crawford feels that, “We need to allow companies to defend themselves rather than having the government do it for them. We could solve 90 percent of cybersecurity problems by doing better at locking up bad guys, improving information sharing, and enhancing research, education and awareness.”

So rather than the direction the administration is taking, Crawford prefers a bill that the House Intelligence Committee is working on that would “let the government and Internet service providers voluntarily share digital patterns characterizing potential vulnerabilities, in the interests of speeding responses to cyber problems.”  However, she warns sharing this information could raise “real privacy and civil-liberties implications” that must be addressed.

“When cybersecurity problems arise,” she says, “the best response is to adopt a patch as soon as it’s available [without waiting] for an entirely new operating system [which has not been debugged] to be created.”

In matters of cybersecurity and privacy, ThreatMetrix is far ahead of the curve and any government legislation.  Its ThreatMetrix™ Cloud-Based Fraud Prevention Platform offers a global perspective of risk from a worldwide network of shared intelligence across tens of millions of transactions across all of ThreatMetrix customers. The information is always up-to-date and always available. The ThreatMetrix Cloud-Based Fraud Prevention Platform, incorporating ThreatMetrix SmartID™ cookieless device identification, lets financial institutions and others verify new accounts, authorize payments and transactions and authenticate user logins in real-time — without relying on personally identifiable information (PII). So, even in a worst case scenario where a breach has occurred, cybercriminals never have access to personal information such as birth dates, maiden names and Social Security numbers.

Nobody knows for sure.  Maybe Russian hackers attacked the Illinois water pumping station for the same reason Leigh Mallory, the British mountaineer, said he was going to climb Everest – “Because it’s there.”

A report from the Illinois Statewide Terrorism and Intelligence Center titled “Public Water District Cyber Intrusion” suggests that the burn out of a water pump could have been a deliberate, full scale security breach into the utility’s computer system from a computer in Russia.

Water district workers noted “glitches” in the system for nearly two months. Finally one employee noticed problems with the control systems. According to security expert, Joe Weiss, “An information technology services and computer repair company checked the system logs and determined the computer had been hacked into from a computer located in Russia.”

While not causing a disruption to the water supply, this would be the first cyberattack on an American public utility. According to an article in the New York Daily News, security experts concluded that the attack highlights the risk that hackers can infiltrate the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems that control critical utilities from railroads and dams to chemical plants and nuclear reactors.

Lani Kass, a cyber policy expert, says, “Many (SCADA systems) are old and vulnerable [because] there are no financial incentives for the utility owners to replace and secure these systems and the costs would be high.”

But, when it comes to calling the breaking of the water pump an attack by a foreign power, Sean McGurk, former director of the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center, says everybody should just hold their water. This, of course, was a paraphrase. What CNN reported McGurk said was, “This is just one of many events that occur almost on a weekly basis. While it may be nice to speculate that it was caused by a nation-state or actor, it may be the unintended consequence of maintenance.”

Department of Home Security spokesperson Peter Boogaard noted, “At this time there is no credible corroborated data that indicates a risk to critical infrastructure entities or a threat to public safety.”

So was Illinois under cyberattack by Russian hackers? Was it simply a glitch in the system?  Or was it…something else?

No. Not UFOs. But as it happens, the pump failure coincides with expansion of a Pentagon project that contracts cyber experts to hack into computer systems to pinpoint security weaknesses in U.S. defense programs.  Could this be as case of, as Pogo, the cartoon character used to say, “We have met the enemy and they is us?”

If you’re responsible for the security of your company’s online assets, you have to assume the worst. And, assuming the worst, you need the best possible protection:  ThreatMetrix.

Because the ThreatMetrix™ Cloud-Based Fraud Prevention Platform does not rely on passwords, user names and other data to identify returning visitors, spies are immediately denied one benefit of an attack – gathering personal information about the users themselves. By drawing upon hundreds of anonymous characteristics from every transaction and analyzing them in real-time, ThreatMetrix solutions provide security from hidden proxies, scripted attacks and browser manipulation.

One of these shoes is priced at $428, the other $26.99. At a glance, can you tell which is which? Answer at blog’s end.

Many consumers, returning to a website where they got a “too-good-to-be-true” price break on a name-brand product, found out they were right. It was — too good to be true. And the one telling them was the U.S. government, which left a message saying the site had been seized and warned “willful copyright infringement is a federal crime.”  Not only did these consumers discover they’d been “had,” they were warned they’d better not try to resell whatever they bought to some other poor sucker without explaining the goods were not brand-name.  Talk about coal in your stocking!

On Cyber Monday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director John Morton and Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer announced the results of the ICE and FBI three-month investigation that busted 150 websites selling everything from fake replica NBA jerseys and Louis Vuitton handbags to imitation Ugg boots.

The Feds maintained that while the domain names were registered in the United States, most of the websites were run from China. No one has been charged with a crime in connection with the most recently seized domains, which were just the latest of 350 websites the government has closed since targeting online counterfeiters in June 2010.

An Associated Press account by Alicia A. Caldwell said earlier this year five people were indicted in Virginia on conspiracy and copyright infringement for their roles in operating a website the Justice Department said allowed people to illegally download high-quality movies and television shows. Four, accused of running NinjaVideo.net, have pleaded guilty. A fifth is being sought.

It’s unclear how much money the seized sites have made, or potentially cost legitimate companies. Breuer said since the crackdown on counterfeit sellers started last year, Internet users have gone to the seized domains more than 77 million times.

While withholding comment on whether organized crime is involved in running any of the websites, Morton said, “We are worried about organized crime and [that profits] are going to fuel other criminal activity.”

Whether it’s one consumer or a multinational corporation, the metric is the same.  A product or service has to be genuine and live up to its reputation for quality and delivering what it promises. That’s why more and more companies are turning to ThreatMetrix to help protect their online business.

The ThreatMetrix™ Cloud-Based Fraud Prevention Platform offers a global perspective of risk from a worldwide network of shared intelligence across tens of millions of transactions across all of ThreatMetrix’s customers. The information is always up-to-date and always available. The ThreatMetrix Cloud-Based Fraud Prevention Platform, incorporating ThreatMetrix SmartID™ cookieless device identification, lets financial institutions and others verify new accounts, authorize payments and transactions and authenticate user logins in real-time — without relying on personally identifiable information (PII). So, even in a worst case scenario where a breach has occurred, cybercriminals never have access to personal information such as birth dates, maiden names and Social Security numbers.

The shoe on the left is $428, but getting it for half price (or less) what bargain hunter could resist?  But, if a bargain hunter got the $26.99 shoe when she thought she was getting the $428 shoe, even at half price, she’d be spending about ten times what the shoe is worth.  It’s enough to make you go barefoot.

Legitimate app or a real killer designed to upload malware and snag users’ personal information and money? Perhaps the only thing growing as fast as the mobile market is malware to steal from that market.

Gerry Smith in a Huffington Post post reported that “malware jumped 22 percent in the first half of this year compared with the same period last year. Google’s Android operating system was the most popular target for mobile malware developers during the second quarter….

“Hackers are setting their sights on Android…by disguising malware as legitimate apps. For example, a fake update of the popular game Angry Birds sends sensitive information about the user to the hacker who gains access to the user’s phone and downloads more malicious software….”

According to the Smith’s post, “after several malicious apps were published to the Android Market, Google said it was taking measures to help prevent additional malicious applications from being distributed and working to fix the underlying security issues. It said the malware did not affect Android versions 2.2.2 or higher.”

But, Smith said that a Symantec white paper claims “Google allows attackers to anonymously create and distribute malware in the Android market and relies on Android users to make important security decisions they are often not capable of making….”  Super news with more Americans opting for Google Android operating systems over Apple’s iOS.

A McAfee report found “an increase in fake anti-virus software for Mac operating systems, suggesting that such malware could start appearing on other Apple products, including iPhones and iPads.”

So if both Apple iOS and Google Android OS are becoming at risk of being compromised, where does an online business turn for protection? ThreatMetrix.

Offering transaction security from hidden proxies, scripted attacks and cookie and browser manipulation, the ThreatMetrix™ Cloud-Based Fraud Prevention Platform lets companies authenticate payments, new accounts and returning customers in real-time. And it doesn’t matter what device is being used from smartphones to PCs to tablets. Combined with aggregated fraud intelligence in the cloud, ThreatMetrix device identification offers companies maximum protection without the need to collect social security numbers, email addresses or bank account information.