LONDON: Cyber criminals are on a recruiting mission and they are targeting computer students in well known universities to become part of the gangs, according to a report by an internet security firm Friday.
McAfee Inc, the firm, said these criminals are frequenting universities, computer clubs and online forums to enlist undergraduates to their programs of crime.
There are instances of some of these gangs even sponsoring accommodating students from other disciplines to attend computer courses so that they can function later as what are called "sleepers," McAfee added.
Such recruits are used in writing virus codes, indulging in identity thefts and participating in money laundering activities that have all become highly lucrative professions for the online criminals, the report said.
It warns the organized criminals have the money power to buy competent people to fulfill their mission though they may not have the expertise or access on their own.
McAfee has carried out the study based on investigative material provided by FBI and European intelligence. Quoting an FBI internet expert, the firm said many of the prospective criminals see the internet as a job opportunity.
The report talks about how such students can be paid to become hackers or virus program writers, generators of spam mails and participants in social networking sites so that key personal details of unsuspecting people can be accessed and exploited. Such work helps the organized criminals to plan and execute phishing attacks.
Greg Day, a security analyst at McAfee, who is one of the authors of the report, said most successful cyber crime gangs were based on partnerships between those with the criminal skills and contacts and those with the technical ability.
He says as the number of criminal gangs looking to move into cyber crime expanded, it got harder to recruit skilled hackers.
This has led criminals to approach university students all around the world. These gangs sponsor students for degrees in information technology and once they complete the course, they are obliged to work for the criminals.
