Criminals covet your identity data like never before. What’s more, they’ve perfected more ways to access your bank accounts, grab your Social Security number and manipulate your identity than you can imagine.

Want proof? Just visit any of a dozen or so thriving cybercrime forums, websites that mirror the services of Amazon.com and the efficiencies of eBay. Criminal buyers and sellers convene at these virtual emporiums to wheel and deal in all things related to cyberattacks — and in the fruit of cyberintrusions: pilfered credit and debit card numbers, hijacked bank accounts and stolen personal data.

A long article of little interest to non-technical, non-INFOSEC folks, but it highlights something important that most people overlook and that is the fact that the bad guys have got the intel/knowledge sharing thing down pat. Their world is fast, dynamic and open; perishable data gets around quickly to those who need it, lessons-learned are disseminated in near-real-time, and people are open and trust each other. Whether you’re talking about HLS networks or ISACs or the IC the verdict is in: when it comes to sharing intelligence the bad guys are doing what the good guys are still mostly talking about.

About the Author

Michael Tanji

Michael Tanji spent nearly 20 years in the US intelligence community. Trained in both SIGINT and HUMINT disciplines he has worked at the Defense Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency, and the National Reconnaissance Office. At various points in his career he served as an expert in information warfare, computer network operations, computer forensics, and indications and warning. A veteran of the US Army, Michael has served in both strategic and tactical assignments in the Pacific Theater, the Balkans, and the Middle East.