A Tad Less Dangerous, and More of a Threat to National Security
Criminals are going where the money is:
Expert: Cyber-Crime More Profitable Than Drug Trafficking
Wednesday, November 30, 2005Global cybercrime generated a higher turnover than drug trafficking in 2004 and is set to grow even further with the wider use of technology in developing countries, a top expert said on Monday.
No country is immune from cybercrime, which includes corporate espionage, child pornography, stock manipulation, extortion and piracy, said Valerie McNiven, who advises the U.S. Treasury on cybercrime.
“Last year was the first year that proceeds from cybercrime were greater than proceeds from the sale of illegal drugs, and that was, I believe, over $105 billion,” McNiven told Reuters. “Cybercrime is moving at such a high speed that law enforcement cannot catch up with it.”
It’s nice to see that the dangers haven’t cooled the growth of online shopping. How long that’s sustainable if law enforcement doesn’t figure out a way to catch up is questionable.
It’s not just “traditional” criminals and mobsters either. The problem also has the attention of Homeland Security:
General John Gordon, assistant to the President for Homeland Security and the head of the Homeland Security Council at the White House, told attendees at the RSA Conference here that striking at the heart of the Al Qaeda terrorist network may fragment it into smaller groups that may be more difficult to find. To date, these groups have not launched a terrorist attack through cyberspace, but the potential is there, he said.
“There are a range of actors, but only some of them may be traditional terrorists,” he said. But whether or not a power grid is turned off by a bomb or some form of malicious code, the end result is the same, he added.
However, the financial cost from worms and other incidents of cybercrime reached a record high last year.
Richard Clarke, call your office.
