SAN FRANCISCO – Respondents to the sixth annual "Computer Crime and Security Survey" by the non-profit Computer Security Institute (CSI) and the Computer Intrusion Squad of the San Francisco office of the FBI reported financial losses averaging $2 million each in 2001 because of computer network intrusions. That's almost double the average loss from the CSI's survey in 2001, and reported incidents across the board also increased in varying proportions from a year ago. The survey garnered responses from 538 computer-security practitioners at financial institutions, other companies, government agencies, hospitals and universities across the country. In this year's survey, 64% of the respondents acknowledged some kind of financial loss due to computer breaches. Proprietary information theft was cited as the most costly. Fully 94% detected computer viruses, while 85% of the respondents detected actual security breaches within the past 12 months. The Internet was the source of 70% of the attacks, with the rest coming from internal systems. Meanwhile, 36% of the respondents said they reported the incidents to law enforcement, twice the percentage from the year before. That's perhaps the only number in this year's report authorities would like to see grow. "The results of this year's survey again demonstrate the seriousness and complexity of computer crime," said Bruce J. Gebhardt, agent-in-charge of the San Francisco FBI. "In an effort to address this challenge, the FBI and the private sector have joined forces in an information-sharing initiative named `InfraGard.' For more information, please contact your local FBI office or visit the Web site at www.infragard.net," Gebhardt said. -

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