Just in from one of my colleagues, something that should wake up any lethargic manager or business owner who tends to be unresponsive to security treats – the threat of losing everything, including personal reputation, family trust, friends, and their retirement fund.  This seems like an easy attack…

– Malware was used to infect Micheal Fiola’s computer (a former investigator with the Massachusetts agency that oversees workers’ compensation).

– This malware used Fiola’s computer as a storage repository for child pornography – this is one of the fastest growing businesses on the Internet today.

– We don’t know  the perpetrator, but we do know that Michael was initially charged, lost everything, spent a fortune, and has not recovered.

Business owners need to understand how easy it is to do this kind of thing and how likely it is they’d be held liable.  It would be difficult to prove the pictures didn’t belong to the PC owner – after all, anyone charged would quickly say, “They’re not mine”!  More details in the Baltimore Sun – follow the link.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bal-virus-child-porn-1109,0,403878,print.story