14 DAY TRIAL // It's been a while since the FBI debuted Operation Bot Roast, a national initiative meant to gather valuable information about the hacking activities. Today, the Department of Justice and the FBI published the results of the investigations, saying that over 1 million of computers were involved in hacking attempts. Moreover, it seems like most of the computer owners involved in them didn't know that their system was exploited by malicious programs, no matter the illegal activity: a phishing attack, an identity theft or other Internet crime.
"The majority of victims are not even aware that their computer has been compromised or their personal information exploited," said FBI Assistant Director for the Cyber Division James Finch. "An attacker gains control by infecting the computer with a virus or other malicious code and the computer continues to operate normally. Citizens can protect themselves from botnets and the associated schemes by practicing strong computer security habits to reduce the risk that your computer will be compromised."
Although the FBI wants to become an important part of the hacking investigations, the officials encourage us to avoid calling the FBI directly as some other companies or organization might help us quicker. For example, you can talk with your Internet Service Provider that may offer valuable information about the illegal activities concerning your system. Then, you should send a complaint through the Internet Crime Complaint Center.
"Third, the FBI will not contact you online and request your personal information : Be wary of fraud schemes that request this type of information, especially via unsolicited e-mails," the FBI officials said.
The illegal activities are more and more popular as the hackers are tending to steal any private detail stored on our computers which can be used for other hacking attempts. Most of the information found on victim's computers can be then used in identity theft to hide their original identity.