The International Organization of Securities Commissions
recently released a warning that more and more online attacks are being lodged
against securities markets and financial industries in general. Everyone from
the local CPA to the major brokerage firm is
at risk of these online attacks. While hackers orchestrate online attacks in
many different forms, the most common ones involve intercepting exchanges of
money and otherwise attempting to break down the security of financial websites
and financial services offered online. While these online crimes are very
serious, nothing so severe as to bring down an entire financial organization
has occurred yet, though the International Organization of Securities
Commissions reports that attacks are getting more and more sophisticated and
severe.
While this doesn’t mean that you can’t share sensitive
information with your CPA over the computer or that you can’t transfer money
between accounts online, it does mean that you need to be cautious when
handling financial transactions online. Always make sure you are on a secure,
legitimate site before inputting passwords, credit card numbers, or other
sensitive information, and change passwords frequently in case they are hacked.
Remember that, no matter where you are, whether it’s in Naperville or halfway
around the globe, you have to be vigilant in order to protect yourself.
