Cybercrime, primarily, begins with an intangible theft-strings of numbers and letters, that equate to valuable and personal information. When this data is illegally used, the affect on the victim is handled in the “real world”, through the cooperation of banking institutions, and prosecution by federal authorities. (Or at least it’s supposed to work that way)
But what if the roles were reversed?
What if….instead of cybercrime having real-world repercussions…real-world crime had cyber repercussions?
Let’s find out.
It all started in 2004, as a campaign to fight organized crime in Palermo, Sicily, evolved from canvassing the city with stickers, to an online collaborative effort for support against organized crime, or Sicily’s mafia.
The mafia has played a historic role in Sicily’s culture. It has existed as a criminal organization since the mid-19th century. Despite some glamorization it received in the mid-20th century, it has plagued Sicily with an ironfisted control over politics and finance. Furthermore, Sicily’s location has been occasionally subjected to the unfortunate geographic memorization by Americans, as the island being kicked by the boot of Italy.
Leoluca Orlando, Palermo’s former mayor, had always displayed a strong stance against organized crime. However, this was not the political norm. The resignation, 2 months ago, of Sicily’s governor, Salvatore Cuffaro, came one week after his conviction for involvement in assisting Mafia leaders. The lack of political success in curtailing organized crime, led to the formation of the Committee “Addiopizzo”.
The word “pizzo”, refers to the protection racketeering used by the mafia to extort money from businesses, thus roughly translating the committee’s name to “goodbye to mafia extortion”. Visiting their website, one can read about their formation, become a supporter, post a message and even donate money to their cause. A page or two of their site can be viewed in English, but those fluent in Italian (or perhaps Sicilian?), will learn much more than I did.
This group appears to be quite successful, especially considering the history of fear, instilled by their ruthless opposition. With over 9000 individuals and 240 businesses registered, this campaign continues to grow. Motivation is strong, as a national retailers’ report, from last year, stated that the Mafia financially reaps an amount equivalent to that of 7% of Italy’s gross domestic product.
This online unification, “by the people, for the people”, is unique in several ways. Firstly, it highlights a positive and powerful aspect of collaborative networking. The internet’s global reach has enabled a form of community networking, with power of political proportions, strong enough to bring about change. Perhaps the next revolution will be televised, or viewed on our computer displays via streaming video.
What complicates this issue is how the courageous uprising against such a menacing group, presents a possible new aspect of internet security.
After much reading, I became somewhat familiar with some of the practices of Sicilian organized crime, and can tell you that they’re a little more “persuasive” than the Sopranos. (If you are a member of organized crime, and reading this, I just want to say, not only am I a big fan, but I’m changing my name and moving) The mafia’s enforcement tactics have consisted of death threats, arson, and murder, including the assassination of judges and political leaders.
What does all this have to do with networking and security?
As I originally stated, this is an interesting role reversal for security. The extortion threat, imposed by the Mafia, has nothing to do with computers. Although, the internet has been the medium for the responsive insurgency against the Mafia, by the Sicilian community.
Any security professional can foresee the possible residual security concerns. The increased productivity of technology has come at the expense of our privacy. Nothing is 100% secure and total anonymity has been gone for a long time. While many of those brave individuals and businesses taking a stand against organized crime, publicly demonstrate their support, anyone wishing to do so anonymously, will have a false sense of security. Sites, like this, provide both public and private means of showing support, although something as simple as cookie mishandling, could present problems with privacy.
As predicted, organized crime has adapted to the digital age, employing many talented hackers, and has recently demonstrated proficiency with online thievery.
Will they respond to these collaborative efforts through online harassment and site defacement?
Or by making the hosting ISPs an offer they can’t refuse?
Perhaps, this is a lethal type of internet threat. By visiting a website and registering, spam could be the least of your problems…..you could end up sleeping with the fishes.
I’m not connected with the mafia, but I am connected to the internet. I can be whacked at: greyhat@computer.org
