Slashdot reports a new tool being developed by Symantec intended to raise consumer awareness about cybercrime. By answering a few questions about personal Internet use, the tool calculates your net worth on the black market calculations in three areas: how much your online assets are worth, how much your online identity would sell for on the black market, and your risk of becoming a victim of identity theft.
Norton's Online Risk Calculator is not intended to promote software or instill fear but to raise awareness about cybercrime, according to Marian Merritt, Internet security advocate for Symantec. Merritt pointed out that cybercrime is now larger than the international drug trade. Nearly 10 million people have reported identity theft in United States in the past 12 months and one in four households have already been victimized, she said.
Cybercrime is well reported in the IT space, but the message doesn't often reach the general public, according to Merritt. "You turn on the news and they are talking about capturing drug dealers going across the border, but they rarely show a hacker in handcuffs," she said.
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