Op-ed: Taking war on cybercrime to the streets | Simply Security

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Posted on May 31st, 2012 in Internet Safety by Simply Security | Be the first to comment | Tags: Internet Safety

For individual users, the fight for internet security may feel like a rogue battle.

For individual users, the fight for internet security may feel like a rogue battle. It's just you and your computer, your antivirus software, your firewall, your anti-spam, anti-malware, anti-phishing and spyware detectors against an invisible but ever-looming threat: the internet, or rather, the people who use the web maliciously for their own benefit, be it increasing their cash flow or inflicting damage on others.

Essential Public Radio recently reported that The National Cyber-Forensics and Training Alliance in Pennsylvania is trying to not only make those lone agents for internet justice in America feel less isolated, it's also taking its message worldwide, both online and offline. The group, founded in 1997, has been working to identify cybercrime, neutralize online threats and open conversation about online data protection going with businesses and law enforcement. More recently,the nonprofit alliance also sent one of its officers to the U.K. to work with the Serious Organized Crime Agency (SOCA).

"The nature of digital organized crime groups is that they are agile, entrepreneurial, global, and in recent years, they have grown exponentially," said Chair of SOCA Ian Andrews.

The British have had their share of success in stopping cybercrime more recently as well. SOCA announced it has made inroads with data protection by shutting down an online information marketplace ring of 36 websites on which users were buying and selling credit card numbers and secure data in bulk. The agency also said it arrested two men identified as purchasing data from the site, most likely to defraud card companies or abuse existing card carriers.

"Criminals are turning over vast volumes of these cards," said SOCA's head of cybercrime Lee Miles in a BBC News interview. "They are industrializing their processes and likewise we have to industrialize out processes to match them."

Even though the sites were hosted in the United States, the agency was able to track online transactions and locate the two suspects. Working with the FBI and its overseas partners, SOCA was able to get the sites offline. With hacking and data security already an international affair, it's important that not only individual users but also individual countries don't feel isolated in stopping online threats.

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