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Ed Gibson: Technology graduates lured to cyber crime
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Fiona Raisbeck Feb 22 2007 17:11
Young technology graduates from developing countries are being drawn into organised cyber crime because the money prospects are better than legitimate jobs, according to Ed Gibson, chief security advisor for Microsoft UK.
Gibson, who addressed delegates at a security conference organised by Claranet in London today, warned: “In countries like the Ukraine, it is tempting for young people with a technology background to work for these hacking gangs because there is not a lot of money in legal jobs. Even when a person wants out, their family is threatened with violence so they continue to work for these organised criminals.”
The former FBI agent said that cyber criminal gangs are operating in emerging nations, such as the Ukraine and Bulgaria, to run online fraud campaigns because of lax law enforcement and the lack of cooperation between the authorities there and those in the Western world.
“The police here in the UK and other developed countries are territorially and jurisdictionally bound,” he said. “They can't just go to these emerging countries, where these cyber criminals are working, and liaise with the authorities there. It is much more complicated than that. Where there is money to be made and unsecured systems there is organised crime."
According to Gibson this global problem is set to become even more complex. He argues that botnet numbers will soar as developing countries increase their uptake of personal computers and access to the internet.
“This problem is going to get worse, because we have developed a $100 wind-up computer, which will be sold for $160 in the African countries. The last thing these users will be thinking about is updating security software. The organised criminals cannot wait for this to happen,” he warned.
