From mobsters to terrorists, villains turning to e-crime
Electronic crime is beginning to acquire all the hallmarks of organized crime, with money-laundering, embezzlement of large sums of money, child pornography, sabotage and even espionage all flourishing on the Internet. Everyone, from common fraudsters to terrorists, has seized on the new technology to further their aims. Computers hugely facilitate their activities and makes hunting the criminals down increasingly difficult. Cases of Internet piracy and telecommunications fraud are increasing at dizzying speed, while companies, organizations and individual users seem unprepared to deal with new threats. In 2004, 83 percent of companies in Europe and America fell victim to electronic fraud, while only 10 percent of possible targets in Greece take the necessary security measures. Kathimerini describes the dangers lurking among the keys and behind computer screens.
