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Report: Laid-Off IT Workers Will Go Rogue In 2009
SecurityProNews
Staff Writer
2008-12-15
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Security company Finjan is predicting a rise in cybercrime in 2009, stemming especially from poor economic conditions. Though cybercriminals have already started exploiting the public's fears, Finjan's prediction adds a new dynamic: the rise in cybercrime will be facilitated by laid-off IT workers.
 | | Report: Laid-Off IT Workers Will Go Rogue In 2009 |  |
Finjan's Web Security Trends report spends a lot of time talking about Adobe Flash-based and PDF-based malware and vulnerabilities. As Web 2.0 continues to proliferate, all that data in the cloud will be an enticement for cybercriminals to exploit. Adobe's flagship products are and will be big targets for, like Windows and Internet Explorer, Flash and PDF readers reach nearly every computer connected to the Web.
And while that's not surprising, Finjan predicts that both worsening economic conditions and the new President's agenda will feed cybercrime. Citing an "early trend" reported in Forbes of IT personel taking advantage of their network knowledge during times of economic stress for personal gain, the report expects to a see a similar spike over the next year as the economy worsens.
Both the number and severity of attacks are expected to increase as this new wave of more sophisticated cybercriminals hits the Web, and "no corporation or agency is safe." It's important to note, of course, Finjan makes money selling security products and services. A certain amount of alarm is necessary for business, kind of like how Hank Paulson gets Congress to let him loot the Treasury.
If the Obama Administration is too late to do anything about that, it'll be double-whammied by Obama's insistence on getting broadband to the entire country, especially in poorer parts of the country and rural areas. All those rubes just now discovering the internet are perfect targets for cybercrooks, suggests Finjan.
Joel Hruska at Ars Technica doubts Finjan's assertions about displaced IT workers:
There are a number of factors that could work against Finjan's predicted black hat wave. IT workers in high positions, particularly positions they earned through education and/or substantial time on the job risk compromising their ability to ever use those skills again at some point in the future when the economy recovers. Employees with greater access to personal or secure data that a competitor or botnet master would find valuable may be more likely to turn rogue if fired, but that same group of people risks more if they do so.
You know, because those in high-ranking positions never cross ethical lines when money is involved right?
About the Author:
SecurityProNews is a daily online and email publication focusing on internet security issues.
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