Electronic Security a Worry in an Age of Digital Espionage

They're calling it "Red October." On Monday, Russia's Kaspersky Labs reported that they had identified what may be the most comprehensive, global cyber espionage hack in the history of the Internet. From a CBS News:

Here are two things you never want to see in the same sentence: “IRS” and “digital tracking technology.” On Monday, with a week to go before the filing deadline, news began seeping out of the cesspool in the nation’s capital: The IRS would begin checking the Facebook and Twitter pages of taxpayers whose returns throw up red flags.

More than a million Americans have their tax refunds stolen by identity thieves every year — and that number is skyrocketing. National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson told Congress in a January report that the number of tax-related identity theft cases surged 650% since 2008. A CNN article last year says tax returns have become a popular target for crime rings who decide drugs are too risky. Whereas refund scams of generations past would involve setting up a physical storefront to rip people off, the rise of the Internet has made it much easier for criminals.

More than a million Americans have their tax refunds stolen by identity thieves every year — and that number is skyrocketing. National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson told Congress in a January report that the number of tax-related identity theft cases surged 650% since 2008. A CNN article last year says tax returns have become a popular target for crime rings who decide drugs are too risky. Whereas refund scams of generations past would involve setting up a physical storefront to rip people off, the rise of the Internet has made it much easier for criminals.

It's not all about downloading last night's episode of The Daily Show. Aside from music, movies, and television shows, a population of book pirates is illegally sharing ebook files across the internet.

China's full-throated denials of hacking and counter-accusations of its own do nothing to allay growing concern over large-scale cyberspying alleged in a bombshell report this week, Western analysts said.

Jimmy Iovine at the HP Event

People were upset when the TSA brought full-body scanners to airports, but now the government says it can turn on your computer and look through your files when you cross the U.S. border, Ars Technica reports.