Title: FBI finds hackers can't resist a government agency Subtitle: Latest survey shows that upset employees and angry citizens are sabotaging agency systems more often Author: Kevin Power Source: Government Computer News [snip..] During the past 12 months, government Internet abusers cost their employers about $270,000 in financial losses and unauthorized access incidents cost agencies another $72,000, the FBI said. "From most of what we've seen, it's been disgruntled employees or people with an ax to grind," said George Grotz, an FBI special agent with the bureau's San Francisco office. Whereas 70 percent of attacks used to occur from within, greater Internet access has brought greater vulnerability, Grotz said. The report is the second annual survey by FBI's Internation Computer Crime Squad in San Francisco and CSI. Survey results forr the government incidents were based on responses from agency security officials. Rising criminal tide The survey said agencies' Internet connections were the prime government target; 46 percent reported Internet security incidents. As for other major security problems, 61 percent of agencies reported viruses, 21 percent reported systems penetration incidents, 38 percent cited notebook thefts, 18 percent reported telecommunication fraud and 10 percent reported data or network sabotages. As for systems attacks, 29 percent of the agencies reported internal systems problems and another 17 percent cited problems with remote dial-in intrusions. Grotz said the FBI has worked hard to improve security awareness and is urging agencies to report all attacks. But the survey showed that 19.5 percent of agencies did not know whether their systems had been compomised to unauthorized users, and Grotz said too many organizations opt not to report security breaches. [snip...]