Flash forward to the 21st century and it's clear we have our own brand of digital villains who camp out on the information super-highway, waiting for their chance to steal information and disrupt service. According to the Government Accounting Office, cybercrime--defined as computer crimes, identity theft and phishing--costs the U.S. economy $117.5 billion a year in terms of direct and indirect costs associated with stolen money, pirated intellectual property, and the repair and replacement of damaged networks and equipment. A study by the University of California, Berkeley found that banks and telecommunications companies make up half of all instances of identity theft, with Sprint and AT&T averaging more identity thefts than any other institution except Bank of America.
