When it comes to online data theft, credit card numbers and bank account data are so 2007.
Increasingly, thieves are after more specialized information such as healthcare data, single sign-on credentials for remotely login to corporate networks, and FTP account data, according to a new report from security vendor Finjan Inc.
The report, which was released Wednesday, summarizes the latest trends in the cybercrime marketplace over the first six months of 2008.
One of the biggest among those trends is the growing commoditization of some kinds of stolen data, according to Yuval Ben-Itzhak, chief technology officer at Finjan. Until recently, he said, credit card numbers and bank accounts with PINs were considered valuable items in the underground market. But of late, the market has become flooded with such information leading to its commoditization.
Where valid credit card numbers and PINs used to sell for US$100 or more each, Ben-Itzhak added, they retail today for $10 to $20 in the underground market. Depressing prices even more is the easy availability of such information from numerous sources, most of which are quite literally a mere Google search away from prospective buyers.
As a result, there is a trend on the part of some online thieves to go after data that can fetch them premium prices in the cybercrime market. "It's just basically the rules of supply and demand," Ben-Itzhak said.
One trend Finjan has noted is an increased focus on trying to steal login credentials for Citrix applications. Technologies from Citrix Systems Inc. are being used by an increasing number of healthcare organizations to enable remote network access, Ben-Itzhak said, and stealing Citrix log-in credentials often allows data thieves to gain single sign-on access to a wide range of healthcare related information from inside hospital networks. The stolen data is used for a variety of scams such as fraudulent insurance claims, illegal purchases of prescription drugs, and medical ID theft.
It's not just healthcare organizations that criminals are targeting either, Ben-Itzhak said. There's a growing focus on stealing login credentials that provide remote access to business networks as well.
Finjan, for instance, recently discovered a Argentina-based server containing over 500MB of stolen data, and another server containing over 1.4GB of similar information in Malaysia. In both cases, the systems contained not just healthcare information but also business-related data -- for instance, one of the servers had a cache of data that included passenger reservation data and flight scheduling information stolen from a major airline.
Despite the increasingly sophisticated methods cybercriminals use to steal data, those who are actually soliciting and using the stolen information are relative amateurs with little idea of how to secure their illegally gotten data, Ben-Izthak said. Often, stolen data is stored in unprotected fashion on servers that can easily be accessed by anyone with a Web browser. Data on one of crimeware server discovered by Finjan this year had no access restrictions and allowed search engine crawlers to index log files as they do with other public information on the Internet. As a result, passwords, Social Security numbers, and other sensitive information ended up being stored on public caching servers such as Google's.
The report is available on the Finjan Web site; registration is required.
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Computerworld Live Podcast #97: The Future of Enterprise Networking 25/07/2008 09:45:36
This week CW Live chats with Mark Thompson, global sales and marketing manager for HP ProCurve, on the future of the enterprise networking. Mark discusses the trends we can expect to see in the near future and how the right infrastructure can ensure your enterprise network is secure. - +
Computerworld Live Podcast #96: Security at the Edge 11/06/2008 09:22:22
CW Live speaks with Amol Mitra, HP ProCurve Director of Marketing for Asia Pacific and Japan. Today's topic: how enterprises are starting to shift away from simply controlling security via server logins, firewalls and moving to more adaptive security frameworks. - +
Data Management Edition #10: Multi-Petascale Systems 02/05/2008 09:12:33
This week we look at sustainability and the development of multicore technologies to build multi-petascale systems. - +
IT Security Edition #11: How to poison the Storm botnet 01/05/2008 08:51:55
This week CW Live presents a case study on how to poison the notorious Storm botnet . Plus we take a look at Cisco's plans for Ironport. - +
IT Security Edition #10: Cyber-battles fought and won 24/04/2008 11:09:47
Vendors bow to end user pressure to improve product security, and we take a look at the latest concepts shaping the cyber-battlefield of the future.
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Everything you need to know about email and web security (but were afraid to ask)
What you don’t know can destroy your business. It’s hard to imagine modern business without the internet but in the last few years it has become fraught with danger. Read on to discover how internet security can give your business a competitive advantage.












