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FBI Computer Crime Reports
John Stith
Staff Writer
2006-01-20
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The Federal Bureau of Investigation released a new study covering computer crime and the numbers weren't good. Computer-related crimes cost U.S. business an incredible $67.2 billion a year.
They study covered viruses, spyware, PC theft and other crimes tied to computers. Surveying 2066 organizations, 1324 suffered from some financial loss computer security problems for the 12-month period ending in July 2005.
Some interesting facts came out of the survey as well. Nearly nine out of ten organizations experienced some type of cyber attack and 20% of them said they'd had 20 or more attacks. Types of attacks had viruses at 83.7% and spyware hit 79.5% with more than one in five organizations experiencing port scans or network data sabotage.
Most of the attacks came from the U.S. (26.1%) and China (23.9%) although attacks came from a total of 36 countries. While most companies installed security updates following the security incidents, most did not add advanced techniques like biometric or smart cards. Also, 44% of reported incidents came from within the organizations. The average cost per company went over $24,000.
Bruce Verduyn-a special agent in Houston's Cyber Squad, which administered the survey-said that this new survey differs from the annual CSI/FBI Computer Crime and Security Survey conducted by the Computer Security Institute and the FBI. "We surveyed about three times as many organizations and focused more on new technologies, where attacks originated, and how organizations responded," he said.
Agent Verduyn believes the survey is a clear sign of the urgent need for vigilance against both internal and external cyber assaults. Frank Abagnale, security consultant and subject of the movie "Catch Me If You Can," echoed those comments, saying: "Every company, both large and small, should study this survey and use the data as the basis for making changes. Those who ignore it do so at their peril."
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About the Author:
John is a staff writer for SecurityProNews covering cyber security.
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