Online Crime Seen as Growing Threat to Business, Politics

BobB passed us a link to a NetworkWorld article, exploring the ongoing realization in business circles of the dangers online criminals pose. The piece raises the possibility that criminal elements are gaining access to US research labs in an effort to ferret out corporate and governmental information. One institute referred to in the article states: "Economic espionage will be increasingly common as nation-states use cyber theft of data to gain economic advantage in multinational deals. The attack of choice involves targeted spear phishing with attachments, using well-researched social engineering methods to make the victim believe that an attachment comes from a trusted source." We just recently discussed possible hacker involvement in several municipal blackouts.

Comments

Re:There is only one solution

[madhuri]

We need a separate internet for the Anonymous Cowards... separate the inferior & racist minds for the good of humanity...

Do You See The Common Thread Here?

[Jeremiah Cornelius]

This is just like CIA Claims Cyber Attackers Blacked Out Cities Do you see the common thread here? Same SANS "expert", too. The guy who gave CIA props for their "disclosure". I remember when SANS was a good, technical security training and education outfit. Now they are on the Richard Clarke / Howard Schmidt CyberTerror disinformation campaign. I would doubt the spook "creds" - if you'd call 'em that - of Alan Paller. The worst theft and correlation of personal data is an ongoing effort by the state - with the telcos CA-CHING! Billing all the while. The crooks and Terra-ists are a joke in comparison. T'rists didn't "lose" several BILLION US dollars in small, unmarked bills in Iraq.

Who loses track of that kind of money? No one. Mistakes aren't made like that. Plans are. But we're supposed to be afraid of teh Internet now. Why? Cos' if we didn't have the 'net, we wouldn't know about that missing cash - or the validity of Operations MOCKINGBIRD, MKUltra, Northwoods, etc.

AirTran? This is a great outfit!

Re:Do You See The Common Thread Here?

[Jeremiah Cornelius]

The "Government" is not any one thing - generally. Specifically, there are aspects of the US Government that actively resist and subvert the interest of the American people.

In fact the "government" is not trying to carry out the law of the land - but rather to use law as an instrument of power. The Government would abolish private, reserve currency, were it "desperately attempting, against all odds, trying to sensibly enforce the bogglingly complex and conflicted laws of the land." The argument is disingenuous.

This "Government" - including the highest courts in the judiciary - have recently held forth on the proposition, that for legal purposes, prisoners in extra-judicial detention by the military and executive agencies are not "persons". Therefore, they are not afforded Constitutional guarantees for persons. Simultaneously, the rights of corporations as 'persons" for First Amendment protections - among others - is upheld. What is wrong with this picture? If you try and rationalise this situation, you are put in the position of "the good Gerrmans". The worst are American Liberals - completely enabling the subversion of basic rights and law, through rational acceptance of evil.

Anyone who claims to have any interest in the idea of American Government, should be able to meditate deeply on the real intention of the founders of the Republic - the touchstone of which is in the Introduction and Preamble to the Declaration of Independence.

Define "Criminal" and "Crime"

[AndGodSed]

With all the whoohaa around hacking, phishing, cyber attacks and copyright infringement, I think it is very important to make sure when one talks about "Cyber Crime" there is a definite understanding of what exactly is being referred to.

If that is not done, dangerous grounds are set for criminalizing millions, oh wait, the RIAA is already doing that...

Gov needs to shut down the internet

[Anonymous Coward]

The internet has been an inconvenience to the gov, as it closes our open society and political system, moves to a fascist system.

See the Naomi Wolf YouTube interviews / lectures, read her book. This is one of many commentators who have finally understood that the US is now a police state. We don't yet have a crackdown on ordinary people, but the pressure on people who disagree with George Bush gets higher every year.

Democrats aren't interested in fixing this, they want to inherit.

So, expect a lot more attacks on the internet, and laws designed to 'fix the problem'.