cyber criminals

Cybercrime payoff greater than drug dealing

Judi Hasson — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 11:36:25 -0400

Crime, or at least cybercrime, pays. Business is so good, in fact, that even in the midst of an economic downturn, cybercrime is growing. The FBI reports that, for the first time ever, revenues from cybercrime have exceeded drug trafficking as the most lucrative illegal global business. It is estimated that the cyber crooks are reaping more than $1 trillion annually in illegal profits

"What we've seen is really a deep stratification of electronic crime into a growing, prosperous and responsive economy, with a number of specialty organizations, syndication and deepening organization of peers, both within a vertical skill set and across the entire enterprise of electronic crime," said Peter Cassidy, secretary general of the Anti-Phishing Working Group, a nonprofit organization dedicated to counteracting cybercrime. "Increasingly, we see this is turning into big business."

Cassidy said cyber criminals come from all over the world, with large concentrations in Russia and Eastern Europe, as well as parts of Africa. In recent years, China has also emerged as a global security threat. A recent McAfee report found that of 265 countries surveyed, Hong Kong was the biggest security risk, with almost 19 percent of websites with the .hk domain hosting malware. It was followed by the .cn domain out of the People's Republic of China, and then by the Philippines, Romania and Russia.

For more on the payoff of cybercrime:
- check out this CRN.com article

Related Article:
Dutch botnet masters arrested

Security pros: don't forget common sense

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 07:59:58 -0400

You can run as much anti-virus software as you can afford, but that's still no substitute for common sense. Remember: today's cyber criminals are continuously updating the malware that they have managed to install on a victim's computer. No safeguard is good enough if the computer user does not remember to stay away from links or open attachments that arrive unexpectedly via email or instant messaging. Also, remember that anti-virus programs are the most effective when part of a layered security approach. That includes frequent software patching and using a (hardware and/or software) firewall. Every IT department should have a secure system, using the latest technology and making sure that computer users are properly trained.

For more on the best kind of security:
- See this Washington Post article

ALSO NOTED: India boosts its police skills to fight cyber criminals; Hackers setting their sights on Bluetooth; and much more..

Thu, 04 Jan 2007 19:01:33 -0500

> India boosts its police skills to fight cyber criminals. Article

> Hackers setting their sights on Bluetooth. Article

> Why the negotiating pendulum is swinging in new hires' favor these days. Article

> The reasons new architectures are gaining in popularity. Article

And Finally... Some training tools for the brain. Article

Cyber criminals to take mob approach

Mon, 18 Dec 2006 19:01:37 -0500

A new report predicts that cyber criminals may start joining forces with traditional crime mobs in their quest to grab valuable data. Websense, a Web security vendor, reports that cyber malcontents and today's current organized crime families will form "cooperatives" to sell, buy and trade cyber attack toolkits and exploits. The firm claims that security attacks will be much more organized in the future and there will be greater threats to Web 2.0 sites such as MySpace.com and Wikipedia. More importantly for today's IT leaders, it seems that business networks will also become a favored target for the hackers.

For more on future security threats:
- check out the article at InformationWeek

ALSO NOTED: Feds aim to ease up on SOX rules for SMBs; Cyber criminals not the only ones reaping a profit; and much more...

Mon, 11 Dec 2006 19:01:33 -0500

> Feds aim to ease up on SOX rules for SMBs. Article

> Cyber criminals not the only ones reaping a profit. Article

> Phishers enjoy their weekends too. Article

> ID theft a growing issue in the U.K. Article

> Why the holidays are prime career networking time. Article

And Finally.... A "Where's Waldo" game for all you techies. Article

DNS hackers' newest, more powerful tool

Sun, 26 Mar 2006 19:01:38 -0500

One of the newest hacker tools is the DNS server, which cyber criminals are using to knock out online businesses and up their ante on Internet assaults. It's no small issue considering that DNS attacks are hitting big time security vendors with everyone else. VeriSign, for example, says it experienced one of the biggest system attacks ever thanks to a DNS event. And there's more than a few reasons why hackers are using the DNS approach--it's easier to hide behind, carries more ammunition and delivers a much more powerful punch than other cyber crime strategies.

For more on the DNS attack trend:
- read this article at News.com