Cyberattacks likely to escalate this year

Cyberattacks fueled by ideological ire are likely to escalate this year and continue to bedevil corporations and governments, while putting innocent consumers at risk.

That follows a surge of so-called hacktivist attacks in 2011 instigated by the loose-knit Anonymous and LulzSec hacking groups, say security experts and technologists. Hacktivists disrupted scores of websites, pilfered massive troves of data — and compared notes. "They are learning from each other," says Kris Harms principal consultant of network security firm Mandiant. "Corporations and governments need to recognize (more) break-ins are inevitable." The unprecedented spike in politically motivated cyberintrusions was capped by Anonymous' breach of Strategic Forecasting's website over the holidays.