Tier-3, the behavioural analysis IT security specialist, has warned companies that hacker toolkits - which were previously confined to specialist hidden forums on the Internet - are now being sold openly on auction sites such as eBay.
"This is a serious development," said Geoff Sweeney, Tier-3's CTO, who added that, where previously would-be hackers had to score `brownie points' to gain access to the hacker forums and source the kits, the fact that they are now on open sale on eBay is very worrying.
"It basically puts high level hacking tools, including surreptitious trojan loaders and Web site hacking utilities, into the hands of almost any Internet user - including novices - providing they have an eBay and Paypal account," said Sweeney.
The Tier-3 CTO went on to say that the hacker kits are usually sold on eBay as ethical hacker training courses, but the courses also include a wealth of utilities for "educational purposes".
"This is really bad news for companies of all sizes, as it means they have to be extra-careful on the IT security front. As we've said before, companies can no longer rely on a single line of defence for their IT resource and now need to consider extending their security umbrella to include behavioural analysis technology," he said.
"Only then can they have a safety net capable of intercepting both known and unknown electronic attacks on their IT systems," he added.
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ABOUT TIER-3
Tier-3, with headquarters in Sydney, is the inventor of Behavioural Anomaly Detection (BAD) technology which is the cornerstone of the HUNTSMAN Threat Management System. HUNTSMAN enables enterprises to scale security management while, at the same time, improving its effectiveness by offering for the first time, insight into enterprise ICT infrastructure and real-time risk-based threat management. Tier-3s significant customer base includes government, financial institutions, major corporations, and organisations in the critical infrastructure and intelligence areas around the world.
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