Where the Dangers Are The threats to information security that keep the experts up at night
-- and what businesses and consumers can do to protect themselves
By DAVID BANK and RIVA RICHMOND Staff Reporters of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL July 18, 2005; Page R1
In the world of cybercrime, the bad guys are getting smarter -- and more ambitious.
In recent months, hackers have carried out a flurry of increasingly sophisticated attacks, highlighting the vulnerability of key computer networks around the world.
Criminals penetrated the database of CardSystems Solutions Inc., nabbing up to 200,000 Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover card numbers and potentially exposing tens of millions more. Leading high-tech companies in Israel allegedly planted surveillance software on the computers of their business rivals. British security officials warned of a computer attack aimed at stealing sensitive information from banks, insurers and other parts of that country's "critical infrastructure."
Security experts fear things will only get worse. As technology gets more complex, more vulnerabilities are springing up in computer networks -- and more criminals, terrorists and mischief makers are rushing to exploit them.