Cybercrime, security and digital intelligence are important work of great relevance
in today’s interconnected world and one that nobody with an interest in
enforcement, risk or technology should be without. In the mid 1990’s the Secret
Service was at the forefront of cybercrime because of its financial crimes and
identity theft legal responsibilities to protect the country’s financial systems.
Almost all cybercriminals at that time were focused on penetrating private sector
institutions for financial and personal information. As stated by a Secret Service
“target hacker” at the time, “why financial institutions? Because that is where the
money is”.
Today’s digital economy is even more dependent on the Internet, yet few
users or decision makers have more than a rudimentary understanding of the
online risks that threaten all of us.
Advances in computer technology and greater access to personal information
via the Internet have created a virtual marketplace for transnational cyber criminals
to share stolen information and criminal methodologies. As a result, the
Secret Service has observed a marked increase in the quality, quantity and complexity
of cybercrimes targeting private industry and critical infrastructure. These
crimes include network intrusions, hacking attacks, development and use of malicious
software, and account takeovers leading to significant data breaches affecting
every sector of the world economy. As large companies have adopted more
sophisticated protections against cyber-crime, criminals have adapted as well by
increasing their attacks against small and medium-sized businesses, banks, and
data processors. Unfortunately, many smaller businesses do not have the resources
to adopt and continuously upgrade the sophisticated protections needed to safeguard
data from being compromised.