The first decade of the 21st century saw a dramatic change in the nature of cybercrime. Once the province of teenage boys spreading graffiti for kicks and notoriety, hackers today are organized, financially motivated gangs. In the past, virus writers displayed offensive images and bragged about the malware they had written; now hackers target companies to steal intellectual property, build complex networks of compromised PCs and rob individuals of their identities.

2009 saw Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites solidify their position at the heart of many users’ daily internet

activities, and saw these websites become a primary target for hackers. Because of this, social networks have become one of the most significant vectors for data loss and identity theft.

New computing platforms also emerged last year, and shortly thereafter fell victim to cybercriminal activities. What was lost was once again found in 2009, as old hacking techniques re-emerged as means to penetrate data protection.

By understanding the problems that have arisen in the past, perhaps internet users can craft themselves a better, safer future.

Link to report here

Image from Flickr – Planning session