Re: Why Worm Writers Stay Free

[InfoSec News <isn () c4i org>]

Forwarded from: Robert G. Ferrell <rferrell () texas net>

At 01:17 AM 12/28/01 -0600, you wrote:
> "Cyber criminals are like idiot Hansel and Gretels, scattering
> electronic breadcrumbs that lead straight to them," said retired
> New York City detective Pete Angonasta. "You just don't see this
> sort of behavior in other criminals. I've never seen a burglar
> leaving cute notes crediting the crime to himself. And I've never
> run across a burglar who puts up a self-promotional website or
> goes into a chat room to discuss the night's activities."

There's nothing odd about this discrepancy, at least from a criminal
psychology point of view.  Burglars are motivated primarily by a
desire to gain material wealth, either directly by stealing negotiable
currency or indirectly by fencing their stolen goods.  They don't need
to brag about their crimes in order to profit by them.

Virus writers, on the other hand, seldom see any profit from their
actions other than reports in the media of the effect of their
efforts.  Except in the exceedingly rare case of someone who creates a
virus for the express purpose of extorting corporations or governments
for material gain, virus creators are usually psychologically (and
often physically) adolescent, socially inept individuals who get an
enormous adrenalin rush and self-importance boost from releasing
malicious code and watching it wreak havoc.  It is hardly surprising
that such individuals are prone to bragging about their
accomplishments in chat rooms.  They're not professional criminals,
but rather naughty school kids. What's the point of bringing the
Internet to its knees (in their inflated world view) when no one knows
you did it?  Remember that these sorts of actions are often associated
with an attempt to gain acceptance into or increase one's status
within what is often called the 'electronic underground.' Bragging is
pretty much de rigeur for this environment.

RGF

Robert G. Ferrell
rferrell () texas net
http://rferrell.home.texas.net/rgflit.html 



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