KEY POINTS:
New Zealand broadband computer users are being attacked by would-be intruder more than a hundred times a day, a study released today says.
The study by NetSafe and IBM New Zealand -- to mark International Computer Security Day on Thursday - shows computers in New Zealand, connected to the internet, were targeted more than a hundred times a day by a variety of worms, viruses, trojans and hackers.
The study examined the type and frequency of threats exposed to a computer accessing popular websites via a broadband connection.
The threats were monitored by intrusion detection software running on a computer equipped with an updated firewall and operating system that automatically downloads system updates and security patches.
NetSafe executive director Martin Cocker said the study was aimed at finding out what happened when New Zealanders who used basic internet safety precautions, like an updated firewall, went online to access popular websites.
The first suspicious activity was detected within 20 seconds of being connected to the internet, he said.
More than 4500 suspicious or malicious events were recorded when the computer was protected with an updated firewall for the first 27 days of the study, he said.
The number of attacks per day soared dramatically when the firewall was disabled for three days at the end of the experiment, to approximately 538 per day, he said.
Among the threats included malware, designed to hijack control of the computer.
IBM New Zealand security specialist John Martin said there were thousands of malware programmes roaming the internet daily.
New Zealanders could expect internet security risks to intensify if trends in other countries were anything to go by, he said.
"Hijackers can use your computer to steal your bandwidth or personal information like your credit card details.
"They can also connect to other hijacked computers, creating a zombie network that can launch attacks against commercial organisations."
Mr Cocker said there was good news from the study.
"New Zealanders can easily minimise security risks by being careful online, and by doing the net basics, which include implementing basic internet security measures such as an updated firewall and operating system."
- NZPA
