9 years, 5 months ago

TalkTalk cyber attack: Hacking tools open up crime to anyone

The best of Voices delivered to your inbox every week - from controversial columns to expert analysis Sign up for our free weekly Voices newsletter for expert opinion and columns Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Criminals are increasingly adopting the long-term tactics of highly skilled, highly motivated groups often charged by a state to break into critical systems of rival nations and steal information. The covert state activity led one academic to liken the hackers to the privateer ships in the Elizabethan era sent off to attack treasure ships of enemy nations. Europol said there was a blurring of the lines between groups who broke into critical infrastructure systems to steal information and profit-driven cyber criminals – “with both camps borrowing tools, techniques and methodologies from each other’s portfolios”. The growth of the market in hacking tools has allowed a new broad base of “unskilled, entry-level” cyber criminals to launch attacks on a scale way beyond their own technical ability.

The Independent

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