These backdoors are then often posted on Web sites or in newsgroups. The biggest threat is the internal threat, not the external threat. The best defense against hackers, in most cases, is to keep the doors shut to them at all times. Firewalls can also track the Internet address of the person launching an attack on your computer - something most newbies don't realize. A small business that doesn't at least have firewalls as protection is a giant target, waiting for any one of millions of people to throw a dart.
Larger businesses can invest more in protection of their systems, and have more to lose.
These are fake computer networks within the network that hackers are allowed to access. Once the hacker is stuck in the honeypot, the company can go to the police or the federal authorities. The law is taking these crimes more seriously now, said Scott Feldmann, an associate with Brobeck, Phleger and Harrison, a law firm that specializes in technology issues with offices in Irvine, California. Both California and federal statutes have stiff punishments for the hackers who get caught. Still, there are no penalties yet for posting hacking software, Feldmann said, in part because security experts use the publicly available information to improve their systems.