Hackers are all over but the fact that they came from Estonia and Moldova is mesmerizing. Russia has lots of hackers but Moldova and Estonia aren’t the primary places most people think of when it comes to exceptional hackers.

The money came up missing from the Royal Bank of Scotland Group in Atlanta in 2008. The band of hackers was able to successfully break the encryption that was protecting consumer data on payroll debit cards at the bank. After breaking in, and stealing the customer data they even elevated the account confines on the compromised financial records. Thus securing even more money and messing up a number of accounts.

After that, the circle of hackers had a set of “cashers” set up. There were 44 fake payroll debit cards in which $9 million was withdrawn from over 2,100 ATMS in 280 cities worldwide. Most of which were located in the U.S. The investigation is ongoing but at least the authorities won indictments against the eight people. This was a massive undertaking and it would be interesting to know the man hours and logistics that went behind this operation.

Hacking is a huge problem and it’s only getting worse. Attacks are launched endlessly at private sites as well as government sites. There are hackers that work alone, for businesses, and their governments. Just last summer North Korea began a new armed forces unit with 100 hackers onboard.

This special military unit of hackers was given the specific duty of breaking into enemy networks and stealing sensitive data. The group is also accountable for creating malicious programs that have the capability to take down IT infrastructure if a war breaks out.

This is no laughing matter and the idea is scary. There are continually reports on the news about cyber attacks against the U.S. government usually from North Korea, China, or Russia. Just a few months ago hackers got into the U.S. electric grid and government websites. They were responsible for disruptions and viruses that totally shut down the system for two weeks.

IT Security is exceedingly important and there is a high demand for professionals. Governments and businesses are constantly looking for specialists with the skills, education, and aptitude to resolve problems. They earn high salaries and are responsible for the safekeeping of the site which protects the operations of the site as well as data and funds.

Massive cyber attacks not only affect customers and companies, but also civilians. Everyday at every hour and every single minute there are cyber attacks. Anything is doable with a computer and the internet, which is why these attacks are so dangerous. There is a high demand for IT professionals that concentrate on security and battling hackers and their nasty programs.

Everybody has enemies out there and it’s essential to protect yourself from attacks. A college degree in Information Technology and Security will put you on the speedy track to a career that will protect companies and government from external attacks. This is a billion dollar business and you may be able to stop the next $9 million dollar hacking job from happening.

About the author: Diane Johnson writes articles and blogs about current events, accredited online schools and degrees online.