The Russians are coming

In a topsy-turvy flush of national pride, Russia's cybercrime police unit has warned that the hackers there are the world leaders, reports Dan Ilett of News.com's sister site ZDNet UK.

"Everyone knows that Russians are good at maths," Boris Miroshnikov, a lieutenant general in the ominously named Department K told a London conference crowd. "Our software writers are the best in the world, that's why our hackers are the best in the world."

Also in the running for top cybercrime nation are Brazil, home of a number of active hacking groups, and China, whose Net criminals are said to be undercutting rates charged by the Russian pros. What do they have in common? Loose laws or an environment that has allowed organized crime to set up gangs devoted to online scams, experts say.

Of course, if you're fighting the best hackers in the world, it's not going to be an easy job. Russian law enforcement efforts took a step forward recently when the Moscow City Police Computer Crimes division completed an investigation into a music downloads site that was offering songs for only a few pennies each. It's a far cry from the days when the FBI lured Russian suspects out of their homeland to nab them.