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LIGATT Security International, Inc.: LIGATT Security Alert -- Computer Hackers Make Mega Millions From Mega Churches

^{Published on 2009-04-09 08:56:57, Last Modified on 2009-04-09 08:57:41 - Market Wire}
 

ATLANTA, GA--(Marketwire - April 9, 2009) - LIGATT Security International (PINKSHEETS: [ IGTP ]) reports that computer hackers have began targeting mega churches. As a result of the recent downfall of the economy, people are running to churches at an alarming rate longing for a sense of security. Little do churchgoers know, the lack of proper Internet security characteristic in most churches has left them vulnerable to attack by computer hackers.

On Sunday mornings, you can find Pastors on television preaching in front of tens of thousands of people while broadcasting to millions. They ask for donations that can be paid over the phone via credit card or check by phone. The credit card and check information is then entered into each church's computers, leaving its security in the hands of the IT manager who may know slightly more than the preacher about computers, but not nearly as much as the average computer geek hacking from his parents' basement.

In August 2008, the professionals at LIGATT Security International ([ www.LIGATT.com ]) discovered a message that was posted by computer hackers in an unidentified hacker chat room. The message referenced a Black Enterprise magazine article that detailed the affluence of African American mega churches and their Bishops. In this chat room, a hacker was quoted saying, "I've been hacking churches for years and have never been caught. I have full access to over one hundred churches and sell their members' names and addresses to illegal Mexican immigrants for their identities at $10 a pop."

Although the security guards and off duty police officers heavily monitor the physical property of most mega churches, these professionals often focus solely on securing cash donations. Rarely do they consider that once the debit and credit card information is entered into the computer, all a computer hacker must do is open their laptop and attack.

"One of the problems with mega churches is that they trust IT professionals to protect their computer systems, not realizing that they are not computer security professionals," says Gregory Evans, CEO of LIGATT Security International and Certified Ethical Hacker. "Furthermore, what we have seen at many mega churches are IT professionals that began as volunteers. These individuals were usually computer enthusiasts who volunteered when the church was small and later inherited their position as the church continued to grow. Whatever the case may be, it is important for churches to understand that IT professionals are not equipped to handle computer security," Evans reveals.

For the full story, go to [ www.NationalCyberSecurity.com ]