This blog article is reposted in part, with permission, from the
SANS Ouch! Newsletter. [Editor's Note: (Wyman) This month we
present an overview of why and how the Bad Guys do it, what it's
called, and what you can do to protect your computer.]
Blackhats. Hackers who use their skills for explicitly criminal
or other malicious ends, such as writing malware (malicious
software) to steal credit card numbers and banking data or by
phishing; a.k.a. the Bad Guys. Phishing. The practice of sending
out fake email messages that look as if they come from a trusted
person or institution-usually a bank-in order to trick people
into handing over confidential information. The emails often
direct you to a website that looks like that of the real
financial institution. But it is a fake and has been rigged to
collect your personal information, such as passwords, credit
card numbers and bank account numbers, and transmit them to the
Bad Guys. Man-in-the-middle. An attack in which a criminal
hacker intercepts information sent