SMEs to become targets of more sophisticated cyber-crime in 2012

SMEs will increasingly become targets of more sophisticated cyber-crime in 2012 that will be more difficult to detect, experts predict.

The forecast comes alongside another prediction that "hacktivists" – hackers who break into security systems to promote a certain cause – could play less of a role in the cyber-crime community than during the past 12 months.

Those predictions come alongside comments made by the Australian Federal Police that 2012 will see more businesses hit by cyber-crime and hacking attempts than ever before, as more businesses continue to put more critical data online. Rob Forsyth, managing director at Sophos Australia and New Zealand, says the nature of cyber-crime changes over time and 2012 will bring even more evolution to the fast-paced world of hacking.