| By Anonymous,
on 23-12-2007 18:49
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Published in : The News, Latest News |
Even as the FBI on Thursday «www.fbi.gov» a series of arrests in conjunction with its ongoing campaign against botnets, computer security company McAfee warned that there’s no end in sight to the fight against cyber crime.
The FBI said that since June, when it announced “Operation Bot Roast,” eight individuals have been indicted, plead guilty, or were sentenced for criminal activity related to botnets and that 13 warrants haven been served in the U.S. and overseas in connection with the effort.
“Today, botnets are the weapon of choice of cyber criminals,” said FBI Director Robert S. Mueller, III in a statement. “They seek to conceal their criminal activities by using third-party computers as vehicles for their crimes. In Bot Roast II, we see the diverse and complex nature of crimes that are being committed through the use of botnets. Despite this enormous challenge, we will continue to be aggressive in finding those responsible for attempting to exploit unknowing Internet users.”
The FBI should find no shortage of work going forward. According to Secure Computing, a computer security firm, three computers somewhere in the world are subverted and turned into bots every second.
In its new «www.mcafee.com», McAfee warns that cyber espionage has moved from tentative probing to well-funded, well-organized campaigns for financial, technical, and political gain. The report sees online services becoming increasingly vulnerable to sophisticated attacks and the emergence of a market for software flaws and bots.
“Cyber crime is a grim reality that’s growing at an alarming rate, and no one is immune to the mounting threat,” McAfee warns. “It is costing consumers, businesses, and nations billions of dollars annually, and there’s no end in sight.”
While it’s tempting to see the FBI’s victories as a sign of progress and to dismiss the drumbeat of dread sounded by companies that make a market in fear, no one responsible for informational assets can safely afford to do so. And McAfee is not alone in its concern.
“Chinese espionage activities in the United States are so extensive that they comprise the single greatest risk to the security of American technologies,” the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission warned Congress in a report earlier this month.
While the Chinese government has consistently denied any involvement in cyber attacks, the McAfee report details cyber espionage by attackers based in China against government agencies in the U.S., Australia, Germany, India, and New Zealand.
It should be said that China is not alone in such activities. As Johannes Ullrich, chief research officer at the SANS Institute, puts it in the McAfee report, “Everyone is hacking everyone.”
Perhaps that’s because no one is really secure. After all, if computers at the U.S. Department of Defense can get hacked, as happened in June, what chance does the average Joe have?
Read full article on FUTURESNEWS
http://futuresnews.org/technology/fbi-arrests-bot-masters-as-cyber-crime-worsens/
By webmaster
17 DECEMBER,2007
Last update : 23-12-2007 18:49
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