Malware as a service!

Misconceptions about the nature of cybercrime are affecting the fight against online economic skulduggery.

Widespread beliefs that e-crooks are likely to be either "geeks with glasses" or digital pranksters are well wide of the mark, according to researchers from Trend Micro, which reckons the majority of cybercrooks would be indistinguishable from the man in the street.

What all the groups have in common is sophisticated business models, often featuring affiliates and ideas about bonuses and incentives stolen from the mainstream world of software development and applied to cybercrime. For example, many gangs outsource aspects of cybercrime to more specialised groups.