The traditional method of funding a street-gang criminal enterprise through the selling of drugs or guns is now changing to a new form of revenue generation – cyber-crime. The reason for the paradigm shift is quite simple, the ability to make a large amount of money in an easy manner are simply outweighed by the chances of getting caught. Additionally, cyber-crime is a non-violent crime, so there is a very low probability that if the criminal is caught the chances of doing “hard-time” is slim.
In Manhattan today, the district attorney’s office announced that it has indicted 55 people who are alleged to have stolen $2 million dollars in fraudulent purchases after targeting a non-profit organization. The donors to the non-profit organization include some of the most notable philanthropists in New York City, but other victims of the cyber-ring included a Brooklyn car dealership, and real estate company, among others. It should come as no surprise that a non-profit organization was the target of a cyber-crime. The monies a non-profit typically generates goes toward funding the “cause,” and minimal attention towards governance protocols, like data security, is ever contemplated. What the criminal sees is HUGE opportunity: High Net-Worth Incomes, Easy Access, No Awareness (mixed together, and this is a ripe formula for criminal actors).
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/16/nyregion/indictment-expected-against-55-in-cybercrime.html?hpw