The Security Mentor

What if you get malware from something you buy at the store?

It happened last year in Japan when IO Data shipped infected external hard drives to its Japanese customers. The payload was a program to let bad guys control the victim computer remotely.

Which could be just a freak accident. But put these facts together:

• Hardware companies have paper-thin profit margins
• Spyware companies are trying to position themselves as if they were legitimate businesses
• It's worth real money to get spyware onto a computer

and you have a recipe for something scary happening, at least at the cheap end of the market.