Cyber Crime and Cyber Terrorism

party email provider. The hackers were able to access the payment details of 
5000 customers who had previously shopped on its website. Lush did not fully 
meet industry standards relating to card payment security and faced a potential 
fine of 
£
500,000 from The Information Commissioner’s Office.
These incidents and many more like them demonstrate the multitude and variety of 
risks faced by organizations today not only from direct losses from the event itself, 
but from the risks associated to impact upon reputation (requiring a structured and 
often costly PR response) and from increased fines and claims for damages.
THE CYBER THREAT
The cyber threat for organizations comes in a variety of shapes and sizes and depen-
dent upon who they are, they may be seen as a primary target, as collateral damage 
or merely as a “playground” in which the cyber-infant hones their “Hacking” skills. 
These threats can include: Hacktivism, theft of IP (intellectual property), Cyber-
stalking, Extortion, virus dissemination, identity theft, vandalism, and fraud. Many 
businesses could also find themselves unwittingly playing a part in attacks on other 
computer networks as they become “infected” by tools which enable an attacker 
to take command and control over their computers and use them at their will in a 
“Distributed Denial of Service” (DDOS) attack on another organization or critical 
infrastructure.
Stanley Konter, CEO of Savannah’s Sabre Technologies once stated “The prob-
lem has gotten more prevalent with always-on, high-speed internet access. Attackers 
are always out there looking for that type of computer.” He was referring to the fact 
that computers are often left switched on and connected to the internet, even when 
not in use and this connection can be used both ways by people wishing to do us 
harm. These threats range between state-sponsored terrorists looking to disrupt na-
tional infrastructures through to individuals and groups of individuals who are doing 
it for “lulz” (slang for the term “for laughs”).

---