Largest cybercrime take-down in history

An Estonian gang of cyber criminals were arrested under charges of hacking into computers and using them to redirect unwitting users to advertisement Web sites. The gang's network of infected systems exceeded four million computers, spanned 100 countries and profited approximately 13 million CAD.

The gang, using the seemingly legitimate IT company Rove Digital as a cover, received referral fees from advertisers in return for sending the hacked users to these advertising sites. According to the United States indictment, this practise gained the company approximately nine million euros over the course of four years. They have been charged for fraud and computer intrusion, and may face decades in prison.

The discovery and disbanding of this ring brings to attention the increasing severity of cybercrime as a concerning issue. According to a release from Statistics Canada, the issue of cybercrime is becoming one of international concern that has a severe impact on law enforcement, the government and citizens, and protection against it is becoming an increasing priority.

Fourth year Computer Science student AJ Robidas explained some of the common ways members of cybercrime rings such as this gang gain control over computers, and offered advice for any computer users who wish to protect themselves from cybercrime. Robidas described pharming and phishing as two of the most prominent issues which can be avoided.

"They will have a page that looks like it's an authentic Web site, but is not," she said. "[Or] they will have a link that looks like the link you're looking for, but will lead you to a harmful site. They will have code or Trojans that can affect your computer and get information."

An article from the SysAdmin, Audit, Network, Security  institute identifies phishing and pharming as two of the most prominent crimes of this century, crimes that are now commonplace due to the ease in which they are accomplished.

Robidas recommended extra attention to the URL of a Web site as one of the easiest ways to ensure that a site is legitimate. She explained that a link will not always lead to the place you expect it to lead; however, there is a way to tell where it will bring you.

"When your mouse [hovers] over a link, you can see at the bottom what URL it is going to," she said. "Make sure it matches the place you want to go before you click it."

The discovery of this massive cybercrime gang has revealed how severe and prominent cybercrime is becoming as people's lives become increasingly immersed in Internet and computer technology. By making the effort to educate themselves about cybercrime and ways to protect themselves against it, Internet users can prevent criminal organizations such as this from being successful. Robidas summarizes cybercrime as being a serious and relevant issue that people should be taking steps to eradicate.

"Cybercrime affects everybody who uses the Internet," she said. "Even if all you use it for is E-mail."