Blind confidence buoys shoppers

Consumer confidence in the safety of online shopping is riding high, according to two new surveys, but experts have warned that users and online retailers must still be alert to the threats.

Internet security specialist Kaspersky Lab found that 85 percent of respondents plan to shop online before Christmas, even though a third of these said their PC had been compromised by an attack in the last six months; most of them due to various forms of keylogging malware.

“It’s to be hoped that those who have been compromised have dealt with the problem – consumers need to be secure, otherwise they may be discouraged from using the internet,” said Kaspersky’s David Emm.

Meanwhile, a new European survey by web security vendor Websense found that only a quarter of online consumers were primarily concerned with keeping their card and banking details secure.

However, this apparent confidence in online shopping could be because many consumers have never been hit by an attack before, said Websense product manager Ross Paul.

“Many people lack awareness of what the risks are – seasonal events generate immense activity online and intelligent criminals are likely to take advantage,” he warned.

Nigel Stanley of Bloor Research argued that although consumers have a responsibility to lock down their PCs, online retailers must also ensure their websites are secure and “the risk of fraud is minimised”.

A new report indicates that online retailers are already aware of their responsibilities and that their fraud prevention efforts have had some success in reducing losses from internet crime. Nearly 60 percent said fraud levels are static or down in terms of monetary value, according to the 2007 UK Online Fraud Report commissioned by secure payment solutions specialist CyberSource.

According to internet security specialist IronPort, consumers and businesses may also be at risk because of slow patch deployment schedules among many vendors.

“The threats associated with email, the web and online transactions have never been higher,” warned the firm’s managing director Matt Peachy. “People who have antivirus think they’re protected but when a new virus is written someone will open it before the AV companies have had time to write the definition file.”