We’ve all heard of the FBI’s “Most Wanted” list, but fewer people know that the FBI has a special most wanted list just for computer criminals. The FBI’s “Cyber’s Most Wanted” list features the FBI’s most wanted computer criminals on the run today.
The current list consists of 20 men, all charged with some type of federal cyber-related crime. Each entry reads like a computer crime spy novel. The charges include computer hacking, trade secrets theft, computer fraud, and wire fraud. Many were allegedly involved in complicated international conspiracies aimed at harvesting and using individual victim’s personal information and/or companies’ electronically stored intellectual property.
The majority of Cyber’s Most Wanted have close ties to other countries, including Russia, the United Kingdom, China, Vietnam, Germany, El Salvador and Romania. It includes salesmen, telecommunications managers, software programmers, network engineers, restaurateurs, internet entrepreneurs and members of the People’s Liberation Army of the People’s Republic of China.
The FBI’s website is complete with downloadable PDF posters featuring the “Cyber’s Most Wanted” mug shots and personal photos, physical descriptions and aliases. Aliases range from the simple (“Mike Shields”) to the absurd (UglyGorilla). The FBI offers rewards as high as $3 million for evidence that leads to their capture or conviction.
We will be featuring periodic profiles of the stories behind the “Cyber’s Most Wanted.” To download your own copy of the FBI’s “Cyber’s Most Wanted” visit: https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/cyber