Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Hackers Need a Summer Vacation Too

Though this little tidbit from Finextra, a British online banking newsletter, sounds funny, it really isn't. In fact, quite the opposite. It's very serious about a lull in hacker activity in the summer months.

But it does make a few good points taken from a poll by Tufin Technologies of 79 hackers at this year's Defcon security conference in Las Vegas. According to the poll, most hackers will take a rest over the summer, getting ready for the juicy and lucrative Christmas season, when they can pounce on unsuspecting online shoppers.

The Tufin study also noted that hackers prefer the holiday season, since the IT staff at most companies are often off, as well. I guess the old saying about the mice coming out to play, when the cat is away, is as true for hackers.