Is the Internet a secure place to transact business?

FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:

Before you go online to shop, pay your bills, check your bank statement, or even send an e-mail... stop and consider this:

More than 75,000 computer systems at 2,500 companies worldwide have been hacked. A Virginia security firm - Net Witness - says it could be one of the largest and most sophisticated cyber-attacks ever discovered.

It began late in 2008 and wasn't found out until last month.

The attack targeted everything from corporate information to e-mails, credit card and login information.

Hackers went after companies in the health and technology sectors... educational institutions, energy and financial firms, ten government agencies and Internet service providers.

It's very scary, when you consider some of these industries should know a thing or two about computer security.

It's believed the hackers got employees at these targeted companies to download infected software - or got them to open e-mails with infected attachments. From there, the attackers could commandeer the users' computers - stealing passwords to banking and social networking sites, which then helped them hack into other computer systems and on and on...

Experts say this attack points up that traditional security approaches just aren't working anymore.

Meanwhile news of this attack comes after it was revealed computer networks were compromised at Google and more than 30 other big companies.

Google says that attack originated in China.

I wonder how safe the computers that have to do with national security are?

Here’s my question to you: How confident are you that the Internet is a secure place to transact business?

Tune in to the Situation Room at 6pm to see if Jack reads your answer on air.

And, we love to know where you’re writing from, so please include your city and state with your comment.

Filed under: Internet