World Cup to bring more crime

Johannesburg - The 2010 Fifa World Cup may bring more than a flood of tourists to South Africa; cyber crime and viruses are also likely to increase dramatically, experts at the international computer security firm Kaspersky Lab have said.

"The 2010 World Cup poses a major threat," said Garry Kondakov, MD of Kaspersky Lab for Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

"Computer or electronic attacks are about business - criminal business. All the malicious software that is created and distributed is because criminals smell money."

Visiting tourists will bring in large amounts of money, attracting criminal activity.

There are also concerns that South Africa's technology infrastructure makes it particularly vulnerable.

"Technical education and security infrastructure within emerging countries is far behind matured regions such as Europe and the UK," said Vasiliy Dyagile of Kaspersky Lab. "These countries are likely to be hit harder."

Watch out for Trojan horses

Credit card fraud poses the greatest threat, with criminals using various methods to retrieve PIN codes, passwords and other sensitive information.

"Credit card usage is actually very high in South Africa," said Dyagile. "People using credit card and electronic payments are unaware of the threat and so credit card fraud is highly likely."

More than 80% of computer security threats come in the form of a Trojan horse - a type of malicious software that appears to perform a desirable function for users but in fact provides unauthorised access to their computer systems.

Although experts at Kaspersky Lab believe 100% protection is unrealistic, there are steps that can increase computer safety and security.

Said Dyagile: "Antivirus software alone cannot protect you. You need software that not only fights the virus, but also prevents it from attacking. People need to be proactive rather than reactive to threats."

- Fin24.com