Perceptions Of Organized Crime As A Cyber Security Threat

28 January 2010

DELOITTE (NEW YORK) —
On 22 January 2010, Deloitte released their report "Cyber Crime: A Clear And Present Danger" based on their review of the 2010 CSO Cyber Security Watch Survey. The report lists traditional organized crimes' addition of cyber crime to its portfolio as a factor heightening the current cyber crime wave. According to the survey, only 6% of respondents listed "organized crime" as the greatest threat to cyber security, while 26% named "hackers." The report concluded that companies may not associate groups of cyber criminals with organized crime, and that organized crime is a potentially greater threat to public and private organizations than they realize.
Source: http://www.deloitte.com/assets/Dcom-UnitedStates/Local%20Assets/Documents/AERS/us_aers_Deloitte%20Cyber%20Crime%20POV%20Jan252010.pdf (Reliability: High)

China, More, Engaged In Assymetrical Cyber Warfare

22 January 2010
FOXNEWS (NEW YORK) - Alan Paller, director of research at the SANS Institute (a computer security firm), claims that "there are [at] least 100 countries with cyber espionage capabilities." Tom Patterson, chief security officer of MagTek Inc. (manufacturer of electronic security devices), said that "the Chinese air force has an asymmetrical warfare division" whose job is to devise ways to disable government command and control systems. Asymmetrical warfare is a term that originated in the counter terrorism field to describe cyber attacks designed to destabilize governments. Google and 30 other companies were attacked in this latest hack. Companies do not like to show weaknesses and therefor they often do not report breaches. China's People's Liberation Army has been tied to many of the cyberattacks that major corporations have recently withstood. Source: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/01/22/google-vs-china-tip-cyberwar/ (Reliability: Moderate)

Bluring The Line Between Cybercrime And Cyberwarfare

23 January 2010

THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD (SYDNEY) —
Attempted intrusions to government systems are not only committed by rival governments, but also by criminal gangs, primarily in Russia and Eastern Europe, who sell stolen state secrets. According to Alistair MacGibbon, a former director of the Australian High Tech Crimes Centre, government use of botnets is blurring the line between cyberespionage and cybercrime, since botnets are a traditional tool of cybercriminals. Paul Ducklin, the regional head of technology at the security vendor Sophos, adds that purchasing exploit capabilities can be inexpensive and appealing to governments who would prefer not to generate exploits themselves.
Source: http://www.smh.com.au/technology/cyberwar-rekindles-arms-race-20100122-mqpc.html (Reliability: Moderate)