A Look at How Cybercrime Went Professional

A Look at How Cybercrime Went Professional

Hacking, which was once the preserve of tech-savvy teenagers showing off, has turned into big business. By some estimates, organized crime represents up to 20 percent of the global GDP, and cybercrime is the fastest-growing part of it. And as the perpetrators become more and more experienced, the attacks become more precise.

A huge increase in Internet crime is only part of the picture. The bigger worry for many organizations is that they are now being individually targeted by criminals using sophisticated technology.

As Russian and Georgian soldiers were flinging explosive artillery shells at each other, both sides in the South Ossetia conflict were also exploiting the very latest in cyber aggression, using techniques honed by professional gangsters specializing in online crime.

Although the attacks are largely untraceable, both sides are pointing the finger firmly at each other. Russian reports claim that South Ossetian government sites were brought down by Georgian hackers. But Georgian institutions, including government departments and the National Bank, have also suffered a string of attacks. Georgia's foreign ministry is posting all news content to the Polish President's Web site after its own was taken out when President Mikheil Saakashvili's pages were replaced with pictures of Adolf Hitler. Meanwhile, reports also claim that Russia's RIA Novosti news agency site is being targeted and crashed. ... Go to source