Edupage, December 08, 2006

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Edupage is a service of EDUCAUSE, a nonprofit association
whose mission is to advance higher education by promoting
the intelligent use of information technology.
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TOP STORIES FOR FRIDAY, DECEMBER 08, 2006
  Students Recruited for Cybercrime
  Report Estimates Teen Use of Electronic Media
  Former Telecom Exec Charged in E-Rate Fraud

STUDENTS RECRUITED FOR CYBERCRIME
According to a new report from computer security firm McAfee, gangs of
criminals are recruiting college students to do the dirty work of
cybercrimes. In an annual report, McAfee compared the gangs' tactics
to those of agents working for the USSR during the Cold War, saying
that recruiters scan computer clubs and other online venues looking for
individuals with strong aptitude for technology. Those people, many of
them undergraduates, are brought in to the criminal gang, where they
write viruses, commit identity theft, and launder money. McAfee said
the growing business of cybercrime is more lucrative than illegal
drugs. "Although organized criminals may have less of the expertise and
access needed to commit cybercrimes," said the report, "they have the
funds to buy the necessary people to do it for them." The report is
based in part on information from the FBI and European intelligence
agencies, according to McAfee.
ZDNet, 8 December 2006
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-6141989.html

REPORT ESTIMATES TEEN USE OF ELECTRONIC MEDIA