Future Crimes author Marc Goodman speaks at Town Hall Seattle

Did you know that last year the world experienced its first billion-dollar bank heist? And that the bad guys didn't even have to walk into a bank?

We've all heard the term flash mob—a scary concept in itself. But what about a flash rob? How do we defend against that? (There are plenty of YouTube videos showing teen mobs casually ransacking stores.)

Perhaps you've heard of SaaS (software as a service). Well, now anyone can buy crimeware online to commit theft, fraud and other offenses—so now we have crime as a service (Caas). In his talk, Marc explores the implication of crime being automated across an ever-growing attack vector as our cars, refrigerators, watches, pacemakers, TVs and other daily use tools connect to the Internet and to each other.

By 2019, cyber crime is going to cost $2 trillion. By 2045 we will have a computer with the processing power of the human brain. Think of the criminal implications of that prospect.

A good friend of mine from my days at startup Aventail in Seattle emailed me yesterday to tell me she had an opportunity to see Marc Goodman, author of Future Crimes, speak at a Town Hall in Seattle this month. The talk was recorded (audio only, not video).

In the recording, Marc describes the future of crime as:

• Exponential - technologies are advancing exponentially, allowing criminals to scale their business
• Automated - algorithms are increasingly running our world and making decisions for us, but algorithms can lie
• Three-dimensional - cyber crime is no longer occurring in 2-D, and the bad guys are outrunning the good guys—like when a $100 drone breaks the century-old security paradigm that keeps convicts inside prison walls

With the advent of the Internet of Things (IoT), the ways in which others can attack us are increasing exponentially. If you think it's not possible for a bad guy to break into your computer network through your facility's heating/cooling system, think again. That's how Target was hacked. 

If you haven't taken the time to read Marc's compelling book, (which I highly recommend!), you might want to take an hour to listen to the Seattle Town Hall audio recording. The play button is near the top of the page, just below Media Library. Scroll down for a link to his TED Talk.

Enjoy!