Slashdot Log In
Online Crime Seen as Growing Threat to Business, Politics
Posted by
Zonk
on Saturday January 19, @10:40PM
from the can't-we-all-just-play-some-wow dept.
from the can't-we-all-just-play-some-wow dept.
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.
Related Stories
[+]
CIA Claims Cyber Attackers Blacked Out Cities 280 comments
Dotnaught writes to tell us InformationWeek is reporting that the CIA admitted today that recent power outages in multiple cities outside the United States are the result of cyberattacks. "We have information, from multiple regions outside the United States, of cyber intrusions into utilities, followed by extortion demands. We suspect, but cannot confirm, that some of these attackers had the benefit of inside knowledge. We have information that cyberattacks have been used to disrupt power equipment in several regions outside the United States. In at least one case, the disruption caused a power outage affecting multiple cities. We do not know who executed these attacks or why, but all involved intrusions through the Internet."
Firehose:Cyber espionage seen as growing threat to business by Anonymous Coward
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
Full
Abbreviated
Hidden
Loading ... Please wait.

It has grown enourmously (Score:1, Funny)
Do You See The Common Thread Here? (Score:5, Insightful)
This is just like CIA Claims Cyber Attackers Blacked Out Cities [slashdot.org] 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 [msn.com]!
Re:Do You See The Common Thread Here? (Score:4, Funny)
Reform, as with a really nasty codebase, is a matter of simplification.
Which, as recent attempts to improve some sacred-cow entitlements shows, is a mother of a challenge.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
In fact the "government" is not trying to carry out the law of the land - but rath
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
If justice as persons is not universal, it is a fiction.
Re: (Score:2)
Beyond the theological point, in reality, the difference between this theory and practice is greater in practice than in theory.
Who gets to define symbols like 'justice'
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/01/20/1747201 [slashdot.org]
"We invoke Executive Privilege to protect our PetroCo sponsors, and the globalists destroying the native ind
Re: (Score:2)
Less is more.
The chief point I want to make is that there are copious smart, dedicated individua
Re: (Score:2)
The narrow palate of "electable" candidates is not produced by a process in which 'the people' are in any way involved.
"Which of
Re: (Score:2)
That is exactly why - generally - 'smitty' ... (Score:1)
This is where, presently, I would substantially differ with you:
'Left' and 'Right' both complai
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
p.s.: Ron Paul for the friendly face of bank/state fascism!
Shit, Ron! RON!! He's onto us! (Score:1)
Good one.
Re: (Score:2)
If RP could change that, he'd already be swapping stories with RFK.
Sorry, I'm new here. (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
It boggles the imagination (Score:4, Interesting)
I am more concerned about who they give physical access to the data / hardware are. All it takes is one vengeful employee and a thumb drive to lose very sensitive data. Worse, many companies that do lose data won't report the breach unless it involves a threat of lawsuit by irate customers. Then they will report it grudgingly and then only after days or even weeks and months have passed. Plenty of time for massive damage to be done.
More powerful organized crime (Score:4, Informative)
Personally, I was extremely unsettled a few years ago when the spammer powers-that-be decided they wanted BlueSecurity shut down [washingtonpost.com], and a bunch of DNS servers, Tucows and 4 other hosting providers, and SixApart/LiveJournal/TypePad [wired.com] fell as collateral damage.
Is that not *scarier* for business? Let's see -- I'm free to conduct my business... as long as I don't step on any toes in the organized crime world. 'Cause if I do, they're shutting me down whenever they feel like it, and there's not a damned thing I (or the supposed "protection" of the law) can do about it.
And of course, no power, once it exists, goes unused for very long. I see more and more stories about botnets used for extortion -- which is a bit trickier to carry out, since it's tough to get paid without a money trail, and law enforcement has more experience dealing with that -- but it's just another example. If they just want to squelch my business, it's incredibly easy.
[Addendum: oh look... the article points to cyber espionage as #3 in the SANS institute's top 10 threats of 2008 [sans.org]; botnets are #2]
'Locate' Osama bin Laden with 'Divining Rods' (Score:1)
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
The flaming-feuer Bush, staff, congress, senate, CIA, FBI, NSA, TelCo, OilCo, InsureCo
Re: (Score:2)
Insightful mods should pile on you - even as an AnonCow!
CyberLaw(TM) (Score:3, Funny)
The irony of anyonimity (Score:4, Interesting)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
> driver's license, or bank accounts to avoid being traced
> by law enforcement or the IRS.
Nowadays the mafia guys have multiple SS cards, drivers licenses and bank accounts -- all belongi
Ironically this is a problem because .... (Score:2)
Not to mention the ease of leaking/bribing information today when combined with google, cam cell phones, etc.
Search engines? (Score:3, Interesting)
Who needs ECHELON anymore!
Well, obviously ... (Score:1)
Fixed that for you (Score:3, Interesting)
Online Crime Facilitates Political, Business Growth.
Seriously, who profits from the stuff that makes the headlines? It sure isn't me; I'm only into grey-area piracy.
Define "Criminal" and "Crime" (Score:2, Insightful)
If that is not done
Gov needs to shut down the internet (Score:1, Insightful)
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
24C3 talks (Score:1)
Crouching Powerpoint, Hidden Trojan
An analysis of targeted attacks from 2005 to 2007
http://events.ccc.de/congress/2007/Fahrplan/track/Hacking/2189.en.html [events.ccc.de]
Cybercrime 2.0
Storm Worm
http://events.ccc.de/congress/2007/Fahrplan/track/Hacking [events.ccc.de]
read this as.. (Score:1)
Re:Good grief. (Score:5, Interesting)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
define separation? (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
Re:Wikipedia user IP talk pages, questionable cont (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)