by Rob Douglas

USA Today ran a piece yesterday by Byron Acohidoabout cybercrime titled Internet Thieves Make Big Money Stealing Corporate Info.  The article documents the rise in attacks on corporate databases as cybercriminals seek to exploit corporate information for extortion and monetary gain.

Acohido writes:

“In the past year, cybercriminals have begun to infiltrate corporate tech systems as never before. Knowing that some governments and companies will pay handsomely for industrial secrets, data thieves are harvesting as much corporate data as they can, in anticipation of rising demand.”

Citing an expert on this type of hacking, Acohido notes:

“Criminal groups are beginning to refine business models for turning data raided from corporate networks into cold, hard cash. “As they get better at finding ways to sell the information they steal, we can expect this type of attack to become more common — and harder to detect,” says Marcus Sachs, director of the SANS Internet Storm Center.”

Interestingly, it may be the wide-spread success of identity thieves that is pushing organized crime to attack corporate databases in search of proprietary information to exploit.

“Elite cybergangs can no longer make great money stealing and selling personal identity data. Thousands of small-time, copycat data thieves have oversaturated the market, driving prices to commodity levels. Credit card account numbers that once fetched $100 or more, for instance, can be had for $10 or less, says Gunter Ollmann, chief security strategist at IBM ISS, IBM’s tech security division.”

The reality is all forms of information are under increasing and unrelenting attack.  Until the business community and government successfully partner to capture and prosecute the organized criminals involved in the majority of these attacks, we will not see a reduction in cybercrime.