H*Commerce: The Business of Hacking You exposes techniques used by international cybercriminals

May 28, 2009

3 Min Read

PRESS RELEASE

SANTA CLARA, Calif., May 20, 2009 " McAfee, Inc. (NYSE: MFE) today premiered the first episode in its new online film series, entitled "H*Commerce: The Business of Hacking You." The series exposes the relentless techniques used by international cybercriminals, and profiles the harrowing and crippling effects of one of the largest and most elaborate email scams on record. H*Commerce (or Hacker Commerce) is defined as the business of making money through the illegal use of technology to compromise personal and business data. Starting today, a new episode will be posted every two weeks at www.StopHCommerce.com until all six episodes have aired.

"In the last two years alone, Americans lost a total of almost $8.5 billion due to Internet scams and crimes," said David Milam, chief marketing officer for McAfee. "People are inundated with suspicious emails and spam, but typically they view these as annoyances, not serious threats. We produced the Web-based film to make cybercrime real for people, and to help consumers understand why they need to take precautions." Hollywood's Seth Gordon, director of the 2008 feature film "Four Christmases," and the documentary, "The King of Kong " A Fistful of Quarters," was commissioned by McAfee to direct "H*Commerce: The Business of Hacking You."

The film series features victim Janella Spears, who lost more than $440,000 in a complex cyberscam over several months, and reveals the dire emotional and financial effects it had on her family and marriage. Over the course of the filming, Chris Roberts, a third-party cyber forensic expert was introduced to Ms. Spears to provide advice on how to clean her system, handle the hackers, and help put an end to the cybercrime scams. "The most compelling way to convey the severity of cybercrime was to focus on the personal story of a specific victim," said director Seth Gordon. "The elaborate scam on Ms. Spears unfolded as we were working on the Web series. We witnessed the tactics cybercriminals use to prey on their victims. I hope this Web series shines a light on what is a surprisingly prevalent and insidious industry."

"Hacking has evolved into a lucrative, international criminal activity that ensnares people because these criminals are very clever at manipulating victims," said Jeff Green, senior vice president for McAfee Avert Labs. "Viewers can put themselves in Ms. Spears' shoes, and understand the magnitude of the threat, and the vulnerabilities we all share online." The online film will be hosted on www.stopHCommerce.com, a site aimed at educating consumers about online threats, and how to protect themselves. Visitors can watch the Web film series, and learn about online safety and best practices for safe shopping. The site also offers resources for users on how to assess an online breach by using McAfee's Criminal Response Unit, a free service to help people stay protected and/or to report a cybercrime. Visitors can also post their real life cybercrime experiences and forward beneficial information from the site to friends and family. About McAfee, Inc. McAfee, Inc., headquartered in Santa Clara, California, is the world's largest dedicated security technology company. McAfee is committed to relentlessly tackling the world's toughest security challenges. The company delivers proactive and proven solutions and services that help secure systems and networks around the world, allowing users to safely connect to the Internet, browse and shop the Web more securely. Backed by an award-winning research team, McAfee creates innovative products that empower home users, businesses, the public sector and service providers by enabling them to prove compliance with regulations, protect data, prevent disruptions, identify vulnerabilities, and continuously monitor and improve their security. http://www.mcafee.com

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