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08 December 2006, 16:04

McAfee report on organised (cyber)crime

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McAfee has released a report on organised crime. McAfee say they based their study on data from the FBI and European organisations dedicated to combating high-tech crime.

The US anti-virus vendor claims that youths from 14 years and up are drawn to cybercriminality. The prominence accorded to criminal perpetrators is one factor in the attractiveness of cybercrime, as is the chance to rake in money without great risk. Another trend is for criminal organisation to shell out for external know-how, to expand their own illegal internet operations. This involves the recruitment of students and IT professionals. The study also notes how most hacker attacks tend to come from former employees, partner firms and suppliers.

The prime tools of the online Mafiosi tend to be phishing emails (mails that appear to be from legitimate online businesses, such as banks, requesting personal information under some seemingly official pretext), manipulated websites on social networking and community sites and bot nets. Mobile storage media, like USB sticks, often serve as the transport medium for sneaking sensitive data out of corporate networks. McAfee even ventures a prediction for the future: mobile devices like Smartphones and portable computers will be increasingly targeted in cybercrooks' crosshairs as they look for ways to steal sensitive data. A renaissance of phonejacking is also likely, given the increasing prevalence of Bluetooth and VoIP.

(trk)

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