Security News > 2007 > September > Cyber crime will spread: study

http://www.smh.com.au/news/technology/cyber-crime-will-spread-study/2007/09/05/1188783320037.html By Jordan Baker Chief Police Reporter September 6, 2007 CYBER criminals will try to exploit the Federal Government's proposed health and welfare access card, interfere with e-passports and engage in "industrial espionage", a federal study predicts. The criminals will move away from a scatter-gun approach and start targeting specific companies and people, the Australian Institute of Criminology report on directions in technology crime warns. It says the access card planned by the Federal Government will be a "likely target". "Areas of risk will relate to dishonest initial enrolment of users as well as data insecurity, both with respect to the card's computer chip as well as supporting databases," it said. Criminals might also try to compromise the quality of data protection for e-passports. As government use of advanced technology increased, there would be an increased risk to online services such as electronic voting and tendering. "Such applications would be attractive targets for groups wishing to disrupt or affect levels of confidence in government and business generally." Criminals could exploit a household or consumer in a bid to get access to businesses, and soon the attacks would come not only from people with programming experience, but also from people with financial and legal skills. Cyber crime had been motivated by curiosity and fame. But it was increasingly being driven by greed - hence the involvement of organised crime - as well as revenge by disgruntled employees, and politics, including terrorism. "Terrorist financing through the use of technology-enabled crime will develop as an important area of risk," the report says. As companies outsource operations overseas, or deal more with developing countries, they will need to take steps to protect their information security, the report says. Weaknesses could be introduced to overseas software "by corrupt offshore employees or foreign intelligence agencies", leading to industrial espionage. As workers become more mobile and use more mobile and wireless devices, their personal and corporate information will become vulnerable, the report says. There was easy wireless access to networks, while "the ease with which erased data on such devices can be recovered increases their attractiveness to criminals". Pre-paid cards and online international funds transfers provided new options for money launderers, as did multiplayer online games. Such was the sophistication of many online games, money launderers could buy virtual cash using illegal funds and change it back to real money. The report also warns the legal defences of cyber criminals will become more sophisticated. They might challenge the admissibility of electronic evidence or insist they were merely role playing. The report recommends engaging the internet security industry to help design secure software and hardware and setting up taskforces to investigate cyber crime. Copyright 2007 - The Sydney Morning Herald. ____________________________________ Attend HITBSecConf2007 - Malaysia Taking place September 3-6 2007 featuring seven tracks of technical training and a dual-track security conference with keynote speakers Lance Spitzner and Mikko Hypponen! - Book your seats today! http://conference.hitb.org/hitbsecconf2007kl/

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