Cyber crime gangs target Irish firms

CRIME gangs are extorting thousands of euro from Irish businesses by attacking and hijacking their computer systems and websites, according to the Garda hi-tech crime squad.

The Computer Crime Investigation Unit said foreign gangs, sometimes in conjunction with Irish criminals, are flying in specialist hackers from abroad to target companies here.

The head of the unit, Detective Inspector Paul Gillen said a “major problem” for law enforcement agencies will be criminals’ ability to avoid having to possess criminal evidence by storing their data remotely on a server in another country.

The warnings follow a threat assessment on internet facilitated organised crime by the European Union police agency Europol.

“We have seen the transition in hackers doing stuff for fun or credibility, such as defacing a website, to where it is revenue-generating. Hackers are being hired by organised crime gangs to generate money,” said Det Insp Gillen.

His unit is investigating cybercrime including:

* Denial of service attacks: An individual or network bombarding a website with requests, overwhelming the site’s ability to respond. An email demanding money is sent to end the attack.

* Ransomware: A gang hacks into a company’s computer system, takes control and encrypts it. An email demands money for an encryption password

* Malicious software: A virus that lies dormant until a certain website is accessed, such as an online banking site. The software then hijacks the session, transferring money to an account of a “mule” recruited by the gang.