Happy New Year: Who are you?

摘要

We have begun to see attacks and mal-ware that could have a devastating effect on the global computing infrastructure. Part of that is because of the ability to weaponize malware and part of it is due to the ability to monetize crimeware. Five years ago I would not have taken seriously the notion of cyber criminals holding major banks or individuals in the hundreds of thousands at gunpoint. However, the collaboration between terrorists and cyber crooks has been a solid enabler, much to the disgust of the public in general and the burdens of security professionals in particular. Simply, there is a new element in cyber space and that element is the cyber mercenary. These folks will do anything to any organization or anyone if there is money in it. That spells bad news for us.