Hackers increasingly using portable devices

Computer hackers are using portable devices to gain access to public and government computers, according to Hani Mukhtar, a Saudi IT expert in the information technology department of Saudi Aramco.
“What now causes the most concern is not computer hackers, but the hackers using portable devices, since defenses against these devices are still in their infancy,” Mukhtar said.
He added: “There are a lot of new devices, and their defense systems do not parallel the formidable numbers of applications they use. What’s worse, the upgrades to these applications are so fast that no equivalent protection system can be developed in time, and therefore new upgrades are likely to be vulnerable in some cases.”
He said that the risk of hacking in companies and organizations is multiplied since more people now have access to their e-mails and company websites through their portable devices.
“Because of this, the websites become vulnerable to attacks from Internet gangs,” he said. “In the past, we used to be able to determine the location of the terminal used by the hacker. But since people themselves are mobile with their portable devices, it is very difficult now to pinpoint the source.”