It doesn't take a genius to figure out that forcing someone at gunpoint to withdraw a few hundred dollars from an ATM machine is far more trouble and less rewarding than fraudulently authorizing an electronic transfer of funds. Bacard isn't waiting for the cyber-crime wave to hit. He says he already encrypts all his computer files, every day without fail. In the movie The Net , techno-terrorists aim to attack the communication networks of everything from the Pentagon to the international banking system. The more plausible threat posed by computer criminals is frighteningly more mundane.
Crooks like to specialize.
Some burglars, for example, intentionally target houses that hold firearms collections because of their resale value on the streets. It won't be long before computer-savvy thieves apply that simple logic to PCs. On the Web is a weekly column on issues and topics that will help you become a better informed, more adept Web traveler. You can review an archive of previous columns. Or check out Meddis' background and how he arrived in cyberspace.