Why global efforts to combat cybercrime are so difficult
“A district attorney would rather spend time prosecuting local crime and criminals so he has something to show for it than spending a lot of time and money trying to track down organized criminals in Russia,” said Steven Titch, an associate fellow of the R Street Institute that is focused on telecommunications, the Internet and information technology. “If you catch them, where are they going to get prosecuted and whose law are they going to fall under?”
Occasionally, there are results. In June 2013 Microsoft and the FBI reported taking down a cybercrime ring responsible for more than $500 million in fraud. This June, a cooperative attack led by the FBI, Europol, the UK’s National Crime Agency, academic researchers and security firms (including Dell SecureWorks) seized control over the Gameover ZeuS botnet, one which steals financial and personal data. However an upgraded version of Gameover ZeuS, with a more robust infrastructure, was back online in July.
“I do not read about any organization that has really been caught,” said Titch. “There is definitely more room for international cooperation.”
