Cybercrooks did more than $100 million of damage last year, and it's going to get worse.
by Reuters March 5, 1999, 8:41 a.m. PT
Forget the stereotype of the teen hacker. Sophisticated cybercrooks caused well over $100 million in losses last year, and the trend toward professional computer crime is on the rise.
In its fourth annual survey, the San Francisco-based Computer Security Institute reported Friday that corporations, banks, and government agencies all face a growing threat from computer crime--committed both inside and outside their organizations.
"It is clear that computer crime and other information security breaches pose a growing threat to U.S. economic competitiveness and the rule of law in cyberspace," the survey said. "It is also clear that the financial cost is tangible and alarming." The survey, conducted jointly by the CSI and the FBI's San Francisco Computer Crime Squad, polled more than 500 information security professionals.
Almost one-third of the respondents reported that outsiders had penetrated their computer systems in the past year, most frequently through an Internet connection.
While about half of the respondents acknowledged that the computer break-ins resulted in financial losses, 163 organizations, or a third of those polled, could say how much money had been lost--$123 million for them alone. The most serious losses occurred through the theft of proprietary information and financial fraud, the survey said, although it added that other computer crimes ranged from data sabotage to laptop theft.
Not Just Teen Terrors
CSI Director Patrice Rapalus said indications of rising levels of computer crime belied the popular notion of computer hackers as bored teenagers looking for a little excitement. "It's not simply teenagers coming in and spray-painting a Web page," Rapalus said. "It's not just the stereotypical hacker. People are seeing financial losses due to various different kinds of attacks."
Going Public
In an encouraging note, the CSI study found a "dramatic increase" in the number of computer security breaches that had been officially reported to law enforcement--a sign that the problem was being taken seriously.
"They are more aware of the problem," Rapalus said. "A lot of people are finding out that they need to report in order to avoid liabilities.
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