New Delhi: New research identifies common attributes of cybercrime networks, revealing how these groups function and work together to cause an estimated $445-600 billion of harm globally per year. “It’s not the ‘Tony Soprano mob boss type’ who’s ordering cybercrime against financial institutions,” says co-author Thomas Holt, professor of criminal justice at Michigan State University.
“Certainly, there are different nation states and groups engaging in cybercrime, but the ones causing the most damage are loose groups of individuals who come together to do one thing, do it really well — and even for a period of time — then disappear.”
In cases like New York City's “Five Families,” organised crime networks have historic validity, and are documented and traceable. In the online space, however, it’s a very difficult trail to follow, Holt says.
“We found that these cybercriminals work in organisations, but those organisations differ depending on the offense,” Holt says. “They may have relationships with each other, but they are not multi-year, multi-generation, sophisticated groups that you associate with other organised crime networks.”
Holt explains that organised cybercrime networks are made up of hackers coming together because of functional skills that allow them to collaborate to commit the specific crime. So, if someone has specific expertise in password encryption and another can code in a specific programming language, they work together because they can be more effective — and cause greater disruption — together than alone.
Holt and lead author ER Leukfeldt, a researcher at the Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement, reviewed 18 cases from the Netherlands in which individuals faced prosecution for cases related to phishing. Data came directly from police files and was gathered through wire and IP taps, undercover policing, observation, and house searches.
Beyond accessing credit cards and banking information, Holt and Leukfeldt found that cybercriminals also worked together to create fake documents so they could obtain money from banks under fraudulent identities.
The research also debunks common misconceptions that sophisticated organised criminal networks — such as the Russian mafia — are the ones creating cybercrime.
