Cyber Crime

10 Pages 2615 Words

data corrupted, no credit-card numbers stolen--at least so far. Yet it's a deceptively diabolical trick that has temporarily halted commerce on some of the biggest Web sites, raising the question: How soft is the underbelly of the Internet? Could tricks like these jeopardize the explosive growth of the Web, where consumers and businesses are expected to transact nearly $450 billion in business this year? ''It's been war out there for some time, but it's been hidden,'' says James Adams, co-founder of iDEFENSE, an Alexandria, Va., company that specializes in cyber threats. ''Now, for the first time, there is a general awareness of our vulnerabilities and the nature of what we have wrought by running helter-skelter down the speed race of the Information Highway.''

To be sure, not even the most hardened cyber sleuths are suggesting the Net is going to wither overnight from the misdeeds of these wrongdoers. But the events of recent days are delivering a shrill wake-up call to businesses that they need to spend as much time protecting their Web sites and networks as they do linking them with customers, suppliers, contractors--and you. Consider just a quick smattering of recent events: In December, 300,000 credit-card numbers were snatched from online music retailer CD Universe. In March, the Melissa virus caused an estimated $80 million in damage when it swept around the world, paralyzing e-mail systems. That same month, hackers-for-hire pleaded guilty to breaking into phone giants AT&T (T), GTE (GTE), and Sprint (FON), among others, for calling card numbers that eventually made their way to organized crime gangs in Italy. According to the FBI, the phone companies were hit for an estimated $2 million.

Cyber crime is becoming one of the Net's growth businesses. The recent spate of attacks that gummed up Web sites for hours--known as ''denial of service''--is only one type. Today, criminals are doing everything from stealing intellectual...