The dark and increasingly dangerous world of identity theft is often presented to us as mere personal chaos revolving around fake credit card charges. While this is a valid concern, the emerging dimension of this threat is far more sinister. Today, identity theft has morphed into something far more odious: “identity assumption.”
This fast-growing crime now facilitates many drug deals and massive fraud. But that is just the beginning. It is only a matter of time before another major terror event occurs in which identity assumption is a key component. Security professionals are extremely reticent to divulge exact details lest they provide the roadmap for an upstart identity assumption ring; however, amid growing concerns, they are now willing to talk in general terms.
One quarter of the planet’s population has some sort of internet access. PCs on high speed connections are left running nonstop, 24/7, with most sporting some version of Microsoft Windows operating system. They can be compromised en masse and herded together into vulnerable formations known as botnets. A shadowy, ever shifting market of botnet operators rent these systems in time increments as small as five minutes. Large scale applications include spamming and denial of service. The largest of these ever sighted controlled over 400,000 member PCs, the virtual equivalent of a nuclear tipped cruise missile when pointed at some hapless web site.
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