Cyber Crime has Surpassed Illegal Drug Trafficking as a Criminal Moneymaker[1]; 1 in 5 will become a Victim[2]

LONDON, UK (Sept. 22, 2009) – Every three minutes a crime is committed on the streets of Madrid[3]. Every two minutes a crime is committed on the streets of Berlin[4]. But every three seconds, an identity is stolen online — that’s nearly 10,512,000 identities each year. Cyber crime is real crime; and it is more profitable, provides more anonymity, and can be more difficult to prosecute than offline crimes. Today Symantec (Nasdaq: SYMC) the makers of Norton software, has launched a crusade against cyber crime.

Symantec is exposing the inner workings of one of the largest illegal industries in the world and arming the public with the information they need to stay protected through a collection of educational and actionable assets and corporate actions including:

• Internet Black Market video series – inviting the general public to take a virtual tour and learn how the online criminal marketplace operates, what is for sale and what the latest schemes of cyber thieves are;
• Every Click Matters website – taking an entertaining and educational look at the world of cyber crime, exploring digital dangers and who’s behind them, understanding whether cyber crime can happen to you and educating on what you can do about it;
• Norton Online Risk Calculator – offering a quick and free tool to evaluate your risk level and provide an estimated value of your personal data to thieves in the criminal underground1
• “Cyber Crime Exposed” Booklet – educating on the threat of cyber crime, the risk it poses and how to safeguard against it through simple everyday steps[5];
• Norton Internet Security 2010 and Norton AntiVirus 2010 – bringing a powerful new defense against cyber crime and featuring ground breaking new reputation-based security codenamed Quorum.
• Making it harder for cyber criminals to scam you – Symantec works with governments and other agencies and organisations around the globe to support and influence legislation, policy and public education as it relates to online crime, Internet safety and privacy.
• Norton Internet Safety Advocate – Marian Merritt is a nationally recognised representative for Symantec’s ongoing efforts surrounding Internet safety. She works alongside educators and public and private organisations to help families enjoy the Internet safely and securely. She also hosts the Internet Safety blog.

Internet Black Market video series
In this video series, Symantec invites you to take a virtual tour of the Internet Black Market and learn how the online criminal marketplace operates, what is for sale and expose some of the cyber criminals’ latest schemes.

Video Title: The Black Market - Where Identities Are Bought & Sold
Video Description: This video provides the official welcome to the Internet Black Market and exposes how cyber criminals buy, sell, barter and trade YOU – meaning your credit card and national insurance/identity card numbers, your bank account information, passwords, logins, mothers’ maiden names, date of birth, phone numbers – anything that can be sold for a profit.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLOEl7Z1PVs

Video Title: The Threat Factory - Keystroke Logging From the Victim and Cybercriminal's Perspective
Video Description: This video provides a unique look at online threats from the criminal’s perspective and shows how their scams are executed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGZp4FeeNSk

Video Title: The Threat Factory - Phishing for Victims
Video Description: This video exposes the online con game of phishing which uses spam, malicious Web sites, email messages, and instant messages to trick people into divulging sensitive information such as bank account information and credit card numbers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqD3nrHJfn8

[1]Source: US Department of Treasury
[2]Source: Consumer Reports
[3]Source: Spanish Government 2008 http://www.la-moncloa.es/default.htm.
[4]Source: Federal Criminal Police Office Statistics (Bundeskriminalstatistiken) 2008
[5]Available in selected languages across Europe