Staff in profitable businesses are leaving
too much of their personal information online, which could make
them vulnerable to extortion from the Russian and Italian Mafia, a
former FBI undercover agent has warned.
Joe Pistone, who worked at the FBI for 27 years, said the
Russian and Italian Mafia were using data from public sites to
launch attacks against businesses and individuals.
"People put
too much information on social media sites like Facebook and
MySpace," he said.
Users on these sites may include their work details in personal
profiles, allowing organised crime gangs to identify them and their
company.
Speaking to Computer Weekly prior to a panel discussion at the
Institute of Directors with business heads in London today, Pistone
said, "Anyone is vulnerable. They will try to find your weakness.
It may be money, it may be drugs, it may be women. They will go
after vulnerable individuals in your business."
People who put their CVs online may also be at risk, as this
could identify that they work, or have worked at companies the
Mafia wants to target.
Pistone said the Russian and Italian Mafia have also targeted
computer systems, threatening to launch a denial of service attack
to lock-up servers unless a large sum of money is handed over.
"Most people will pay the first time, but this is a mistake
because the Mafia will just come back," he said. Pistone
recommended companies contact the authorities the first time it
happens.
Managing a security crisis
Security breaches are inevitable, warned Carlos Solaris, vice
president of security at Bell Labs, who was also speaking at the
Institute of Directors event. "Despite all our best efforts,
security incidents do happen."
Solaris, a former head of network security at the White House,
said, "Chief executive officers need to have an emergency response
team in place, which has been tested in advance to tackle security
breaches."
During any security issue, Solaris recommended that the business
have in place its legal council, security experts, spokespeople and
brand experts, ready in advance to tackle a crisis.