Dear Bazz,

What is disturbing is the fact that hackers are
able to access and interfere with data that should
be kept private. I would have thought that certain
sites would have safeguards and be inaccessible.
Obviously that's not the case to professional
hackers - and in this case to criminals. Which means
can computers be trusted with vital information?
And how can this problem be solved?

Foxy;
It is to some extent the design of the operating system plus
the user taking advantage of the security facilities that are made
available by its designer and any addon like virus detectors.

It is because of the facilities available that we now see so many of
these emails trying to trick you into clicking on this or that.
For the large industrial systems like the pipeline if they need a
lot of access points by a lot of people then there are lots
of attack points.
So if not connected to the internet and no USB ports and a tight
access needing root access to do anything outside the main program
then you are probably safe. However it is peopleware that is always a risk.

Dear Bazz,

Thank You for taking the time to explain the
situation to me. I doubt if my computer has
anything on it that anyone would want so I
think I'm safe. I did get scammed once - but
it was my own fault. I got a phone call from
someone telling me they were from Telstra.
Like an idiot, I followed their instructions.
And ended up with a virus on the computer -
and it cost me quite a bit to have it removed
by professionals.

Foxy,
That one that caught you has changed its approach now to
"We are about to disconnect your internet because the NBN is
now available. To speak to a technician press one."

Up to this point it is just a computer talking to you.
When you press one you get a person with an Australian accent usually.
They then presume you are using windows and ask you to press certain
keys which give them access to your computer. They can then load a
keystroke monitor so that they can see you usernames and passwords, account numbers etc.
When I am in the mood I lead them on and tell them the key presses
they ask have done nothing. That confuses them and they will call
the "Supervisor".
After a while I tell them I am tired of wasting my time wasting theirs.
I tell them to go an get a real job and stop stealing.
That usually results in bad language.

What annoys me more are these calls saying that you investment
application has been approved and has accumulated $1326 so please sign
in and transfer this amount to your account.
Or they are just selling a Bit Coin account.

It has got to the extent that I just switch off my mobile each afternoon.

Cheers

Latest info.
The Pipeline company is reported to have paid US$5Million.
The only problem was that the unpack key the hackers sent did not work
and they had to revert to their own backups etc.