FBI chief warns that cyber crime is on par with terrorism

FBI director Robert Mueller warned a gathering of Internet security specialists that the threat of cyber attacks rivals terrorism as a national security concern.

The only way to combat cyber assaults is for police, intelligence agencies and private companies to join forces, Mueller said during a presentation at an annual RSA Conference in San Francisco on Thursday.

“Technology is moving so rapidly that, from a security perspective, it is difficult to keep up,” Mueller said. “In the future, we anticipate that the cyber threat will pose the number one threat to our country.”

It’s essential that private corporations and government agencies across the globe coordinate on cyber crime, Mueller said, in part because nefarious hackers are already forming alliances.

“We must work together to safeguard our property, to safeguard our ideas and safeguard our innovation,” Mueller said. “We must use our connectivity to stop those who seek to do us harm.”

Gone are the “good old days” of teenage boys hacking into websites for fun, Muller said. Today’s hackers are savvy and often work in groups, like traditional crime families.

Private sector computer security researchers have attributed waves of cyber assaults to nations out to steal government or business secrets.

“Once isolated hackers have joined forces to form criminal syndicates,” Mueller said.

More from RawStory.com: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/03/02/fbi-chief-warns-cyber-crime-on-par-with-terrorism/

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