Many Data Breaches Perpetrated by Organized Crime
The notion of hackers as lonely, overweight tech-geeks who reside in their parents' basement is now an antiquated, and false, stereotype, according to a recent story on cybercrime from The Washington Post. Bryan Sartin of Verizon Business, a firm that investigates data breaches, told the Post that his group investigated 100 incidents involving 285 million compromised consumer records in 2008. Fifty-percent of those incidents shared the same perpetrators, many of whom Sartin claimed are actively involved in Russian and Eastern European organized crime syndicates. Instead of targeting a company's known security flaws and weaknesses, the new breed of Eastern European hackers will first identify their targets, 95-percent of which are banks and financial institutions, and will then develop a method of infiltration. In one of 2008's largest US cyberattacks, hackers targeted RBS WorldPay, an Atlanta company that focuses on payroll cards and payment processing. The Euro-hackers artificially increased the spending limits on ATM and credit cards, and then distributed the cards to "money mules" who eventually withdrew millions of dollars during a single 24-hour period. According to Sartin, the same hacking crew was responsible for a similar incident at a ski resort in Vermont, and a breach of the Texas-based OmniAmerican Bank. Another organization, based out of Russia, successfully hacked over 300 companies in the U.S. and abroad, according to the report.
Well aware of the problem, the FBI and the Secret Service released a cybercrime warning in February, providing banks and retailers with a list of popular techniques used by hackers. The government agencies also taught the institutions how to identify an already perpetrated, but theretofore unrecognized, breach. Shawn Henry of the FBI's cybercrime division told the Post that, even as attacks grow bolder and more sophisticated, progress is being made in the war against hackers. He said that the FBI is seeking help from victims and foreign law enforcement, and that the bureau's "commitment is steadfast." Everyone with a bank account certainly hopes so. [From: The Washington Post]
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