Fergie's Tech Blog

Cyber Gang Surge Drives Organized Response by Law Enforcement

Rosie Lombardi writes on InterGovWorld:

Organized cyber crime rings are wreaking havoc because they're vastly more organized and better funded than Canadian law enforcement, say security experts. "The criminals are having a field day - we need to increase our efforts exponentially to tackle this effectively," says Ian Wilms, president of the Canadian Association of Police Boards (CAPB).

This imbalance is creating huge incentives for organized crime to get involved in e-fraud, hacking, phishing and other scams. These international rings can buy the best technology with stolen credit cards, but law enforcement doesn't have the budget or manpower to keep up with changing technology even at the federal level, let alone at the cash-strapped municipal level, says Wilms.

A related and disturbing trend is organized cyber crime's tendency to approach young people looking to make a quick, easy buck via chat rooms in colleges and universities, he says. "Organized crime is big business, and just like big business, they recruit the best and brightest. There are clear indications that smart young people are being attracted to this area."

More here.

Note: While this article primarily focuses on Canadian issues, this is also the case in every country around the world, to one extent or another. -ferg

posted by Fergie @ 4/21/2008 01:33:00 PM