We are under cyberattack... and are often the attackers!

The U.S. and China are epicenters for attempted PC break-ins -- and by a wide margin.
Hackers so far have launched 20.6 million attacks from computers within the USA this year, based on research by computer-security vendor SecureWorks. China is second, with 7.7 million tries. Often, the intrusions originate from the compromised PCs of consumers.
Brazil was a distant third in attempted attacks, with 166,987. The rest of the top 10: South Korea (162,289), Poland (153,205), Japan (142,346), Russia (130,572), Taiwan (124,997), Germany (110,493) and Canada (107,483).
The statistics “clearly show the United States and China have a lot of vulnerable computers that have been compromised and are being used as bots to launch cyberattacks,” says Hunter King, a security researcher for SecureWorks. “This should be a warning to organizations and personal computer users that, not only are they putting their computers and networks at risk by not securing them, but they are actually providing these cybercriminals with a platform from which to compromise other computers.”
Secure Computing advises consumers can greatly improve their PCs by keeping their web browser and operating system up to date, using the latest versions of antivirus and antispyware software, following safe computer practices such as being wary of the websites they visit, and not clicking on attachments and links within suspicious e-mail messages.
By Jon SwartzPhoto: The American flag in China during the Beijing Paralympic Games last week. (Elizabeth Dalziel, AP)


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