Spam, hacking ripe for mafia
Source: RockyMountainNews.com
By Darrel Proctor
Date: December 15, 2003
A Russian antivirus expert says we may see fewer computer attacks in the future, but attacks will be more severe because they'll be directed by the mafia.
Eugene Kaspersky, co-founder of Kaspersky Lab and head of its antivirus research, said last week, "The business of the mafia is business, and there could be a lot of money to be made from malware and spamming. As they consolidate control (of) the business of hacking and virus writing they will squeeze out independents. Spam will be an early target.
"If you are a spammer or malware developer, sooner or later the mafia will come knocking."
He's not the only one waiting for organized crime to begin directing hack attacks.
"Spam is ripe for organized crime, as the majority of spam relates to the vice and drugs industry," Neil Barrett, technical director at London-based Information Risk Management, told reporters.
He added that the capability to launch denial-of-service attacks for extortion fits perfectly with the mafia business model."
Original article
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