Crime Online: Fraud, Viruses and Hack Attacks
Nearly two-thirds of all cases handled in 2000 by the International Chamber of Commerce's Commercial Crime Services division involved online fraud, and nearly a third of the cases investigated by the division related to bogus or fraudulent sites. "Cybercrime is traditional crime perpetrated through a new and powerful medium," CCS director Pottengal Mukundan told ZDNet. "It is surprising how experienced businessman discard their normal prudence when confronted with a profitable proposal offered over a well-represented website." Mukundan maintains that traditional con men have adapted their successful cons for the Internet, by offering "too good to be true" deals. "Even in cyberspace, if it seems too good, then it probably is," added another CCS staffer.
The Korea Information Security Agency received about 2,000 reports of hacking incidents in 2000, up from the 572 cases reported in 1999, according to ComputerUser.com. In 1998, the KISA received 158 hacking reports. Nearly half of the reports were for attacks targeting corporations that took advantage of vulnerabilities in the company's computer system or else placed a secret Trojan Horse on the computer systems.
Attacks from viruses delivered via e-mail have increased 300 percent in the past year. MessageLabs, a virus-monitoring company that scans more than three million e-mails a day, told Ananova that it had detected and stopped 155,528 e-mail viruses by November's close or about one every three minutes.
At peak times last year, one out of every 700 e-mails carried a virus, compared to one in 2,000 at the beginning of 2000. "This year was a record-breaker for viruses," said a MessageLabs anti-virus technologist. "There is little doubt that 2001 will be even worse. The viruses are getting smarter and more lethal."
CRM Key to Success
Customer relationship management services are likely to be among the fastest growing segments for companies that measure, predict and optimize business performance, according to IDC. IDC analysts predict worldwide revenue for this market space will accelerate at a compound annual growth rate of 28
percent, from $2 billion in 1999 to more than $6 billion in 2004. "To succeed in today's business and e-business environments, companies must look at ways to optimize financial performance, customer relationships, and the production and delivery of products and services," said an IDC spokesperson.
"Analytic applications software automates the planning, forecasting, and predictive modeling activities for companies, giving them the edge they need over the competition." IDC analysts project CRM revenues will surpass $2.3 billion in 2004, 75 percent more than in 1999. Driving its growth is website analysis, the success of which is linked to personalization. Personalization is the driving force behind turning Web browsers into buyers.
I-mode the Wireless Winner
While WAP (wireless application protocol) gets all the press, DoCoMo's i-mode is the quiet winner among wireless services, according to the Strategis Group. Japan's popular wireless service has signed on nearly 16 million users in less than two years, leaving competing services in the dust. Strategis analysts question whether wireless operators have realistically emulated the i-mode experience and whether DoCoMo's strategy can be directly applied to other global markets. Plus, given the precarious nature of wireless Internet today, Strategis maintains that operators preparing to enter this space must have an understanding of the i-mode phenomenon.
Holiday Online Shopping Boom
Consumers hit the Internet for shopping this year, increasing their online purchases by 46 percent during 2000, reports ActivMedia Research. The bulk of online purchases, however, were made during the holiday season. Reuters reported that in late December online holiday spending reached $8.7 billion, falling well into ActivMedia's projected $56 billion for total online shopping expenditures during the year. ActivMedia further projects online sales will reach $1.1 trillion by 2010. More than half (57 percent) of all consumer-oriented websites are actively selling products and services to consumers and accepting online orders. Another third (36 percent) are engaging in marketing activities at the site but stop short of taking
orders. These sites provide pre-sale information and post-sale support but are not fully functional in e-commerce. "E-commerce activity is really starting to pick up steam," explained an ActivMedia spokesperson. "Online order processing systems are maturing to the point where e-tailers who
invest in online and offline promotional activities are reaping the rewards with significant increases. Overall it takes time to become profitable online and those who implement solid business plans to support reasonable sales volumes should do well online going forward."