On November 11th, 2011, Tracy Kitten wrote for Bank Info Security on the effect of a recent international cybercrime investigation that nabbed six suspects. The investigation shut down a computer scam that generated at least $14 million from more than 4 million infected computers. However, although the take down is impressive, what effect will it have on cybercrime? The article quoted David Navetta, founder of the Information Law Group, as saying "While this group was caught, how many other groups exist out there that will never get caught? The technical and legal complexities of these investigations and take downs are enormous, and while it is important to score victories like this, is it really making an impact?" Navetta went on to compare the war on cybercrime to the U.S. government's controversial, and perhaps failed, war on drugs.
Even though the long-term impact is uncertain, this take down is encouraging. Kitten believes that "the bust may not deter future attacks, but it does prove investigators and the investigations they launch into cybercrimes are getting more sophisticated." Avivah Litan, a security analyst at Gartner, noted that "the good guys can, in fact, beat the bad guys at their own high-stakes, high-tech games."
The source article can be found here.
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