The latest threat is one that has been lurking in the system for as long as two years – called Heartbleed. Once again the hackers and cyber-thugs have attacked a system that we have become more and more dependent upon. This hack has rendered the very core of internet security vulnerable and may have led to millions of compromised websites and transactions. Every day there is news of yet another attack and yet another set of compromised data. There comes a point when all this starts to have a significant impact on how people choose to interact with the systems they had been so enthusiastic about in the past.
Analysis: The backlash thus far has been minor and most people are still trending towards more and more online activity but as more and more people become victims that trend can reverse. Interviews with those who have had to battle identity theft or simply getting control of the credit cards again indicate that they stay wary of online activity for a long time. They start to reject the convenience of the online transaction in favor of the more direct and personal interaction. Not that this helps all that much if the data stored by the store or bank is compromised. The fact is that criminals have been exploiting a very lucrative source of money and the end result is that we are all going to be victimized regularly.
Source: Armada Corporate Intelligence
