The Cyber Mafia Has Already Hacked You

http://money.cnn.com/2011/07/27/technology/organized_cybercrime/index.htm?hpt=te_bn2

This article, published today, grabbed my attention as it relates to a discussion we had in class last night about online security. Large, organized crime organizations result in the theft of billions of dollars every year and play a large role in most sensitive computer systems. Such theieves have committed breaches like the attack on Sony, stealing credit card information from over 75-billion customers and the Citigroup hack which resulted in the theft of over $2.5 million from accounts this past May. It is certainly scary to think of large companies with security measures that presumably reach far beyond our own personal privacy measures being hacked.

CEO of Unveillance, Karim Hijazi, poses a frightening thought: "The Russian Mafia are the most prolific cyber criminals int he world." The author also mentions that a group of former spies came to form the Russian Business Network, a persisitent criminal enterprise that is capable of attacks taht certainly pose a huge threat. And even more frightening, this group is just one of many organized online criminal enterprise.

Organized crime groups are going after large companies, with the intent of stealing "intellectual property, source code and IT architectural renderings that they can sell to competitiors." Now, companies have to be more cautious than ever before as the threat only continues to grow as information is more and more valuable. But Larry Ponemon, Chairman of the Ponemon Institute Research Center for Cyber Security isnsists that the technology used by such groups reach far beyond the capabilities of most existing security systems, adding that most of us have little in terms of a positive line of defense.  Also, it's becoming increasingly more difficult to identify those responsible as they often engage in such behavior from the privacy of their own homes/businesses. I'd be lying if I said this article doesn't strike a little fear. Still, is it enough to keep us off the internet? I'm afraid not....not at all.