Australian e-commerce is being battered by identity (ID) crimes, ...

Australian e-commerce is being battered by identity (ID) crimes, Attorney Gen. Philip Ruddock said Wed. The country’s Computer Emergency Response Team (AusCERT) last month reported that while the incidence of computer and network attacks continues to fall, Internet ID fraud jumped 1200% between April 2004 and April 2005. So the govt. is launching a national ID security strategy, Ruddock said in a keynote speech at the Australian Smart Cards Summit 2005 in Sydney. Australian law enforcement agencies have garnered “significant results” in fighting ID theft, Ruddock said, citing recent shutdowns of almost 1400 phishing sites -- 13 in-country - - as part of a world sweep. But online ID theft to commit fraud is hurting banks and other e-commerce industries to the tune of many millions of dollars, he said. “More than ever before, a growing number of cyberattacks on the Internet are being orchestrated by criminals motivated by illicit financial gain,” AusCERT said. Most use phishing or malware, it said. With a national identity security strategy, govt. would have a common range of quickly verifiable documents to ID clients registering for services, Ruddock said. He dismissed speculation that the govt. is aiming for a national identity card, saying centralized information on a single database only boosts risk of fraud because only one document need be counterfeited to establish identity. Even as Ruddock stressed the growing threat of Internet ID theft, 2 Australian banks Wed. were said to be warning customers of phishing e-mails. Customers clicking onto purported bank websites triggered release of trojans suspected of gathering personal information, Australian IT reported. -- DS