The Crime Report (https://thecrimereport.org/category/cybercrime/)
In partnership with a California security firm, U.S. Girl Scouts will now be able to explore the fundamentals of cyber security skills. Officials say the move will help instill “a valuable 21st century skill set” in members of an organization best known for cookie sales.
Preventing violent extremists from accessing the Internet is now critical to the fight against terrorism, argues a cyber security specialist. A recent Facebook announcement may point the way.
The director of a recent Netflix documentary on child sex-traffickers has called for legislation restricting commercial sex sites. But an expert on human trafficking argues police need them to identify –and save—the victims.
“We’ll admit that business is quite nice, and it’s only improving,” a spokesperson for the group told McClatchy in an encrypted chat.
Most private companies provide only token compensation when their customers’ online data is stolen. They should be required to do more, says a former U.S. Navy cyberspecialist.
Criminals have quickly realized that people are willing to pay hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars in ransom. “This is a growing business because it works,” said Mikko Hypponen of F-Secure, a security firm based in Helsinki, Finland. “And the attacks are becoming more creative and effective.”
Child porn offenders deploy an ever-evolving arsenal of tools, including encryption, peer-to-peer networks and the Dark Web, in a cross-border technological “arms race” that is outstripping law enforcement’s ability to track and catch them.
Doug Robinson of the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) says, “States and local government need to address this because it’s a serious threat. We have urged states to take action immediately.”
A program called E-Responder, launched by the NYC Citizens Crime Commission last year, helps anti-violence workers identify risky posts on social media before they go viral–and has already reported successes in violence intervention. The group’s president says it’s worth a look by other cities, and by social media providers like Facebook.
The cyber attack, already believed to be the biggest online extortion scheme ever recorded, is an “escalating threat” after hitting 200,000 victims across the world since Friday, said the head of Europol, Europe’s policing agency.