Picture of phishing logo
Phishing tools can be bought online

Online crime gets more professional

Long term criminal contracts mean online networks are becoming more efficient

Written by Tom Young

Criminals who sell tools for others to perform illegal activities online are locking middlemen into long term contracts as online crime becomes more professional.

A network propagating the sale of hacking tools has been known about for some time, but this is the first time criminals have established long term business deals.

The deals mean that new and updated tools to get around security measures can be distributed more quickly, thus increasing their effectiveness, according to the latest Symantec Internet Security Threat Report.

reader comments

related articles

Obfuscated malware tops list in August

Threats include runtime packing, polymorphism and junk code injection 14 Sep 2007

 

Hackers hit US Consulate General in Russia

Malicious code waiting for web surfers 13 Sep 2007

Spam dominates business emails

Nearly 90 per cent of messages in August contained viruses or unsolicited adverts 10 Sep 2007

Spam levels reach record high

Emails posing as YouTube videos are responsible for the rise 07 Sep 2007

Malware mimicking legitimate business

R&D budgets, outsourcing models and support services 08 Apr 2008

Firms being left behind by criminals

Response times are too slow to worry hackers, say experts 10 Apr 2008

Web threats continue to rise

Latest Symantec threat report finds a big increase in site specific attacks 08 Apr 2008

related whitepapers

today's top stories

IT's stock is soaring at the LSE

London Stock Exchange IT chief David Lester explains to Angelica Mari how the integration of Borsa Italiana is keeping his team busy, despite the worsening economy 20 Nov 2008

Keeping IT in fashion

John Bovill has been hooked on retail since his early years as a fashion market trader. His industry knowledge is now helping him build a slick IT operation, reports Charlotte Moore 20 Nov 2008

Cutting-edge IT delivers the goods

Chief technology officer Jay Bregman explains how constant innovation is part and parcel of his strategy for delivering competitive advantage at eCourier 20 Nov 2008

Computing podcast: Europol's data sharing woes; credit card protection at Cotton Traders

The pan-European fight against organised crime is undermined by lax data sharing arrangements; and Cotton Traders enhances its credit card protection 20 Nov 2008

Keeping IT on track

Catherine Doran, winner of Computing’s IT Leader of the Year award, tells Angelica Mari of her determination to drive on with technology-led transformation at Network Rail despite uncertainty over funding 19 Nov 2008

Advertisement

Newsletter signup

Sign up for our range of FREE newsletters:

Existing User

Newsletter user login:

Advertisement

Jobs

Related jobs

Job of the week

Job alerts

Sign up here

Find your next job

IT Salary Checker

Check salary here

Advertisement

White papers

Search white papers

Top categories

VPN, Extranet and Intranet Solutions

WAN/ LAN Solutions

Network Security

Interoperability-Connectivity

Grid/ Utility Computing

Latest poll

Will attempts to rebrand IT as a "cool" choice of profession increase the number of IT graduates?

Will attempts to rebrand IT as a "cool" choice of profession increase the number of IT graduates?

Can brand building reverse a decline in IT graduate numbers?

Previous poll results

Latest audio and video articles

Video

The definitive guide to converged communications

Five key trends and five best practice tips to help you improve your corporate communications 20 Nov 2008

PodcastAudio

Computing podcast: Europol's data sharing woes; credit card protection at Cotton Traders

The pan-European fight against organised crime is undermined by lax data sharing arrangements; and Cotton Traders enhances its credit card protection 20 Nov 2008

Latest in-depth articles

StarFeatures

Retaining the stars of IT

Jim Mortleman investigates the innovative techniques IT leaders are using to hang on to their star performers 20 Nov 2008

Dave BaileyComment

Clouds darken outlook for Vista's successor

Windows 7 looks like being an improvement on Vista, but economic and environmental concerns may mean few enterprises will rush to adopt it 20 Nov 2008

Advertisement

Primary Navigation