According to Steven Chabinsky, a deputy assistant director in the FBI's cybercrime division, cybercriminals are now specializing in a small number of electronic crimes, such as programming, hacking or online banking fraud, and are working in collaborative teams.

In a report on Chabinsky's speech at the FOSE 2010 event this week in Washington, Ben Bain of Federal Computer Week noted the FBI cybercrime specialist as saying that electronic criminals are now using forums or online chats to work with their colleagues and peers.

"The cyber underground now consists of subject matter experts that focus on their specific areas", Bain quoted Chabinsky as saying.

"Just like you have doctors who are specialists instead of general practitioners, we have cyber criminals who are specialists instead of general practitioners", Chabinsky told his audience

The FBI cybercrime officer says there are 10 specialist areas that electronic criminals now operate in:

• Coders or programmers who write malware and exploits
• Distributors or vendors who trade and sell stolen data
• Techies who maintain the needed information technology infrastructures
• Hackers
• Fraudsters who create social engineering schemes
• Hosters
• Money movers
• Launderers of digital proceeds, and,
• People, often without technical skills, who handle personnel issues.

Interestingly, Federal Computer Week quoted Chabinsky as saying that cyberthreats are now in the top three of priorities for the FBI to deal with.

"Despite all the advantages of computers and the internet, if we fail to act, the cyber threat can be an existential threat, meaning it can challenge our country's very existence or significantly alter our nation's potential", he told his audience.