Re: Internet Storm Center: Debit Card Compromise Letter

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Eugene H. Spafford" <spaf () me com>
Date: February 15, 2009 10:37:58 AM EST
To: dave () farber net
Cc: ip <ip () v2 listbox com>
Subject: Re: [IP] Internet Storm Center:  Debit Card Compromise Letter

Consider that some estimates of losses to computer crime and fraud are  
in the many billions of $$ per year.  Consider how much money is  
repeatedly spent on reissuing credit and debit cards, restoring  
systems from backups, trying to remove spyware, bots, viruses, and the  
like.  Consider how much is spent on defense mechanisms than only work  
in limited cases -- anti-virus, IDS, firewalls, DLP, yet latest fad.

What effect does that play on global economic downturn?  It is  
certainly a drag on the economy.

Now, think about the solutions being put forward, such as putting all  
your corporate assets and sensitive records "out in the cloud"  
somewhere, on servers that are likely less well-protected or isolated  
than the ones being regularly compromised at the banks and card  
processors.   But it will look cheaper because organizations won't  
need to maintain resources in-house.  And it is already being hyped by  
companies, the NSF and CCC as "the future."  Who can resist the future?

Now, stir in the economic conditions where any talk of replacing  
infrastructure with something that costs more at first, or that needs  
more than a minor change of business processes is going to be  
dismissed immediately as "crazy."

And let's not forget that when the economy goes bad, more criminal  
behavior is likely as people seek value wherever they can find it.

And yet, the institutional responses from government and big vendors  
will be more of the same:  update the patches, and apply another layer  
of gauze.



The situation isn't going to get better -- it's going to get worse.    
Much worse.







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