into your system just because it’s there, and to see if he can. But

he is seldom harmless. Typically he wants to conquer and own your

PC or server. He may use it to store files, possibly including hacker

tools or porn. Then he may examine his target of opportunity and see

just how much havoc he can laughingly wreak.

is the adage this white collar con lives by. Typically an insider,

the skimmer knows the business routine intimately. The classic case

involves the "salami technique," wherein a bank employee alters

the rounding off of each cent within each daily transaction. These

small surpluses are automatically dropped into a separate account.

"Interestingly, they never would have caught him had he switched

accounts occasionally," says Lenkey. "But the guy kept only

one account and when it reached several million, the bank grew suspicious."

with Al Capone. This popular and growing group of data thieves breaks

into a company’s system and steals just a sample of their most confidential

files. They then approach the firm, via anonymous computer of course,

display the files and threaten to reveal them on an international

website if the firm doesn’t come across with a hefty bribe. The victimized

business may feel it can stand tough concerning its own information,

but what about the confidential files of its clients? Unwilling to

spook its customer, the firm pays.

Ex-Soviet satellite nations, particularly Romania, are renowned for

this type of crime, Lenkey notes. But the traditional roots of organized

crime are also adapting their talents to the modern age. In Sicily,

a group called the Casa Nuova recently was caught in a $246 million

bank heist. In the process of tracing the heist computers, authorities

uncovered a huge bribery ring and an entire university that the organization

had taken over and transformed into a Cybercrime U., graduating scores

of diligent hackers.

A less dramatic method used by organized hackers is the mere theft

of vital information, for example, personal credit card or corporate

bank account access numbers. A growing amount of these hackers reach

into the U.S. from over international borders. However, despite all

the invisibility myths, web criminals are very catchable.

"Like any other criminal, they leave traces," says Lenkey.

"Most hackers don’t know all the precautions they need to leave

a clean exit. And those precautions are multiplying every day."

As business owners, there is much we can do to protect ourselves.

But primary is to develop a little understanding.

Lenkey’s cardinal rule is that security depends on people, not gizmos.

"The best bank vault in the world is rated to protect your assets

against only two hours of conventional cutting," he explains.

"In the end your security comes down to the watchful eye of the

tellers and clerks who stand ready to push the alarm button."

Ironic words from a man whose very technical RA Securities is considered

state of the art. But Lenkey explains that while his installation

of RA Securities hardware saves on monitoring personnel, it also involves

a retraining of the entire staff to be specifically alert.

— Bart Jackson

Corrections or additions?

— the web site for U.S. 1 Newspaper in Princeton, New Jersey.