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Computer
theft is a far more prevalent problem than one might
believe, just as efforts at computer theft prevention
are much more ubiquitous than is commonly believed. The
extent of computer theft and its associated risks are
difficult to measure, primarily because only about
10% of computer crime gets reported.3
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Radioactive
information stolen -- Eight
state-owned computers containing details on
all of the New Mexico companies that use
radioactive material were stolen from the
state's Radiation Control Bureau (4/03)
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Phoenix
crime spree -- At least six
break-ins of financial institutions in the
Phoenix area where hard drives were
specifically targeted. Organized crime and
identity theft are the two leading theories.
(2002)
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Law
firm victimized -- the
prestigious Palo Alto law firm of Cooley
Godward LLP suffered a loss of over 200
computers over a one-year period. An
employee was charged with stealing 120 HP
desktop computers and 90 laptops.8
- FBI
investigating hard drive theft --
TriWest had computer hard drives stolen that
contain sensitive information about 220,000
military personnel. Identity theft is the
primary concern.
- School
system loses 10,413 computers --
NSW Australia estimates a loss of $20
million over seven years due to repetitive
thefts. They are implementing a response
program costing $11million, which includes
physical locks and clamps on all new
computers, and many existing computers.
- $4.5
billion losses per Fortune 500 company
-- Confidential surveys indicate data theft
losses are staggering, and as much as 80% of
losses are due to insiders.1
- Nuclear
secrets lost -- The famous Wen Ho
Lee case involved two computer hard drives
containing nuclear design secrets gone
missing for several days
- Navy
missing computers - An internal
audit found 187 computers unaccounted for,
some containing sensitive and classified
information.
- Visa
loses credit card information --
Over a quarter million credit card accounts
were jeopardized when a desktop computer was
stolen from a Visa data processing center.6
- Property
thefts on the rise -- Government
statistics show property thefts against
individuals and corporations have risen as
the economy has slowed down.
- Insiders
are the culprits -- Reports
indicate that as much as 80% of all computer
crime, and 50% of all computer crime against
Fortune 500 companies, are committed by
insiders.
- 500,000
computers stolen in 2002
-- In a nationwide TV ad campaign, IBM
states that there were 500,000 computers
stolen last year
- Total
losses $5 Billion -- Estimated
losses due to hardware theft.2
The FBI estimates $2 billion a month due to
loss of trade secrets.5
- Top
Ten Security Threat --
Information security ranked fourth for 2002.4
- Everybody's
doing it -- Roughly 90% of Fortune 500 companies install some form of
physical security for their computer systems.1
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What can we
conclude from these facts and statistics? One
conclusion would be that the risks associated
with computer security breaches are real, and
the breaches are both widespread and in some
cases devastating. In addition, in most cases,
the loss of computer DATA is the greatest risk.
Whether that data contains nuclear secrets or a
marketing plan, the threat to an organization
can be extremely serious, and in many cases, the
perpetrators are the very persons entrusted with
the data in the first place, i.e. the
"insiders" that are repetitiously
identified in the many surveys.
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If computer
security breaches are so serious, then why don't
we hear more about computer theft and its
associated risks? A number of influences
contribute to the lack of public awareness. To
begin with, around 80% of computer crime is
committed by insiders.3 For large
companies, it's been reported that roughly HALF
of all security breaches come from inside the
organizations.1 It's rather obvious
that the threat in these kinds of cases is not
from viruses or outside hacking, it's from
insiders gaining access to computers and
computer hardware and stealing or sabotaging the
data.
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| It is generally believed that corporations
do not want the publicity and embarrassment of
their weaknesses revealed, and certainly do not
want to make the public any more aware of the
vulnerabilities and difficulties with theft
prevention. Want
to know more? Here's some stories about the "little
guys" who get taken too. |
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Sources:
1 "Computer
Security Issues & Trends," Computer
Security Institute, Spring 2001. The survey was
based on 538 respondents from computer security
practitioners in predominantly large US corporations
and agencies.
2 RAND Report MR-1070-AEA, 1999
3 Pittsburgh City Paper, Vol 4, no. 34. August 24-30, 1994, pp. 8-9
4 Year 2002 Survey of Fortune 1000 Companies,
Pinkertons
5FBI/Financial Institution Fraud Unit
6 Infosecurity News - January/February 1997
7 Posted
without copyright restrictions on http://ww.cboss.on/ca/surv.html,
November, 2002
7
"More than 200 Computers Stolen from Law
Firm," Police Report by Don Kazak, Oct.
8, 1997
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