keywords: 2004 security isps theft virus
text: 2004 was good and bad for IT security Experts agree: 2004 was the best of times, and the worst of times for those concerned about IT security. It was a year with high-profile arrests of virus authors, and the explosion of online crimes, from cyberextortion to identity theft, a year in which ISPs (Internet service providers) won millions in damages from spammers, and spam messages increased by 40 percent.