You Can Read the Introduction of 'Hacked Attacked & Abused' Here

We are living, working and playing in the digital age. It is now almost possible to live your entire life online or through technology. However, the advances and opportunities that technology has delivered have also opened up a Pandora's box of possibilities for darker deeds. Terrorists, organized criminals, fraudsters and money launderers have all jumped at the opportunities offered to them. In the meantime hackers, crackers and virus creators have tried and succeeded in subverting the online environment. Pornography, pedophilia, hate sites, grudge sites, terrorist information - it's all there in glorious detail on the Internet.

Hacked, Attacked and Abused’ is an in-depth exposé of this Internet underbelly. Expert author Peter Lilley gives a compelling account of the risks inherent in our reliance on technology. He provides an overview and evaluation of crime, fraud and risk in the digital age by exploring how we got where we are now, where we are going and what risks we face in the future. It is as equally relevant to business as it is to the individual, we are all customers in the brave new world of the Internet and we should all adopt and apply preventive strategies for dealing with the risks.

Peter Lilley looks at the major themes in turn:

  • The development of technology and the way it has impacted on our personal and business lives
  • Forms of attack and the use of technology to facilitate illegal activities
  • The Internet and the way it lends itself to abuse so readily
  • Information warfare: the use of technology to attack other nations and the relevance to business
  • The loss of privacy: what sort of information is stored on individuals, how it is used and when that becomes unethical
  • The practical steps users can take to manage and minimize the risks of electronic crime and fraud

‘First rule of computer security: don’t buy a computer. Second rule: if you buy one, don’t turn it on.’ - Dark Avenger, legendary virus writer

Did you know that…

  • in 2001 a gambling Web site was hacked so that in a few hours 140 gamblers won a total of $1.9 million?
  • the Love Bug virus cost $8.7 billion globally in lost productivity and clean up costs?
  • numerous corporations have suffered severe reputational and financial consequences due to false information about them being e-mailed to thousands of recipients?
  • major Web sites are being rendered inaccessible by denial of service attacks?
  • in 1986 there was only one recorded computer virus; now there are over 50,000 and that number is still growing!
  • a Texas professor began to receive death threats because someone had ‘stolen’ his e-mail address and sent 20,000 racist messages from it?
  • the range of corporate networks that have been hacked into is innumerable – including Microsoft, NASA, the Korean Atomic Research Institute and numerous crucial national networks?
  • thousands of innocent individuals have had their identities ‘stolen’ online and used fraudulently?

Peter Lilley's new book provides an eye opening account of the various risks posed by the digital age, and what can be done to secure both individual and corporate information and privacy. Risks such as:

  • organized digital crime;
  • cyber laundering;
  • fraudulent Internet Web sites;
  • hacking and cracking;
  • viruses;
  • Web site defacement;
  • unauthorized disclosure of confidential information;
  • electronic cash;
  • identity theft;
  • hardcore and child pornography;
  • information warfare;
  • denial of service attacks where systems are inaccessible to legitimate users;
  • invasion of digital privacy;
  • Government digital monitoring such as Echelon.