Cybercrime incidents set to soar

Cybercrime incidents doubled between 1999 and 2000, and look set to double again this year, according to new research.

A report from the US-based Internet Fraud Complaint Center (IFCC) found that last year's cybercrime incidents shot up to over 21,000, from 10,000 in 1999. But, more alarmingly, the IFCC has also tracked more than 7000 incidents in the first quarter of this year alone.

Such incidents include online fraud, hacking, data theft and malicious virus attacks. The IFCC pointed out that internet auction fraud comprises around two thirds of total complaints.

Some of the results go against the grain of other research, with 70 per cent of respondents claiming that connections to the outside world are more likely to be the way in which companies are attacked, rather than employees doing damage from inside.

Whether internal or external, 64 per cent of companies admitted that they had suffered some sort of financial loss from security breaches.

The IFCC also said that companies were beginning to get the idea and are using the right tools for the job. Although nearly all companies reported some form of virus incident, nearly the same amount said they used antivirus software.

Based at Carnegie Mellon University's Software Engineering Institute, the IFCC was set up in early 2000 by the FBI as a research group to keep tabs on the levels of cybercrime being reported.