Report Predicts that Tech Layoffs Will Cause Cybercrime Spike

Posted 12/16/2008 at 10:12am | by Paul Lilly

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Earlier this year, researchers for Finjan, a web security firm, said that stolen bank data had become "commoditized," with items like PIN codes and credit card information fetching only a fraction of what they used to pull in. Now Finjan warns of an impending "sharp rise [in cybercrime] in 2009 due to the current economic downturn, which makes financial gain from stealing data and selling online even more attractive."

Finjan's report (PDF) notes that cybercrime has evolved into a "booming global business" in 2008, and pointed out an early trend of unemployed IT personnel boosting their income by using crimeware toolkits sold by professional hackers. Finjan says the trend is only the beginning and as layoffs go on the rise in 2009, so too will cybercrime, both in the amount of attacks and the severity.

But not everyone is convinced of Finjan's gloom and doom future. ArsTechinca points out that Finjan's sources are up for interpretation, including a November 19 Forbes article cited in the PDF report. According to ArsTechnica, the Forbes article "doesn't really provide a solid foundation for Finjan's statement. While the piece does take note of various trends, occurrences, and vibrations in the malware market, the author notes that the data 'remains largely anecdotal.'"

Are we on the verge of a major cybercrime spike? Hit the jump and post your predictions.

Image Credit: Andrelemos.info