Cybercrime is no laughing matter

One of the Joker's more riveting lines from "The Dark Knight" comes from a scene where he burns a mountain of money and takes over the mob, declaring things are going to be different. "This town deserves a better class of criminal and I'm gonna give it to them." It is a turning point in the film when the stakes get raised for our hero Batman, who faces his greatest challenge to date.

While the issues of the fictional Gotham City are far more dastardly than those of say Chicago – where the movie was filmed – it does not change the fact that is an interesting parallel between that scene and the current state of crime. While there are still gun toting thugs running about, there is a "better class" of criminal that the business world is combating – cybercrime.

Formally thought of as a teenager in his moms basement, hackers have gone mainstream and are launching targeted attacks against specific businesses and organizations.

In a recent article for Investors Business Daily, Donna Howell examined how cybercrime changed in the last year and what IT departments need to be aware of in 2013.

"Computer attacks evolved in 2012 to target far more than Windows PCs, as risks rose from people using unmanaged mobile devices with their work networks, and as adoption of cloud computing changed cybersecurity needs," wrote Howell. "Meanwhile, organized crime networks honed their skills and automated attack tools, raising the ante."

She went on to warn of several potential threats in the new year. A rise in cyberconflicts and espionage, increasingly complex versions of ransomware and madware, monetization of social networks creates a new target and a universal switch – user and attacker – to mobile devices and the cloud.

To combat these threats, businesses need to ensure they have the resources available for protection. A trusted IT consulting firm like CTI Technology can offer those solutions.