TEMPE, AZ – The same Internet many view as the final frontier of information is quickly becoming the final frontier for crime.

“Cyber crime” and “botnets” may sound like science fiction. But they are actually dangerous, real security threats and modern masterminds of theft.

“Identity theft and general data theft are the big risks” botnets pose, said Gary Longsine, the CEO of Intrinsic Security, Inc., in an e-mail.

Botnets can secretly “watch your keystrokes” and collect account names, passwords, e-mail addresses and credit card numbers as they are typed, Longsine added.

Currently, botnets are more commonly used for “spamming or scanning for other vulnerable systems,” said André Di Mino, the co-founder and director of The Shadowserver Foundation, in an e-mail. But identity theft is quickly becoming botnets’ endgame.

A botnet – the word aptly coined by combining “robot” and “network” – is a group of infected computers remotely and centrally controlled. A botnet takes over a person’s computer and turns it into a monitored and manipulated “zombie” or “drone.”

Botnets rope computers by infecting them with viruses. They spread easily between computers, Longsine said.

The botnets usually spread by “enticing a user to open an e-mail, click a link or visit an infected Web site,” Di Mino said. Authentic-looking e-mails, program downloads, surveys, polls and contests frequently lure victims.

Upon entering the computer, the botnet installs harmful software.

Within minutes, an infected computer can become a “botnet drone,” Di Mino said.

Attacks often target “specific organizations or even people,” Longsine said. Corporations and “big organizations with secrets to protect have more to lose with data theft.”

Botnet attacks on people’s personal home computers are also frequent. “Alarmingly so,” said Di Mino.

Independent research estimates “that at any given time, up to one-fifth of the PC systems in the world are infected,” Longsine said. “There are millions of systems infected with botnets right now.”

And these computers’ owners may not even know it.

“It can be quite difficult to tell if your computer is infected,” Longsine said.

In the past, slow or erratic computer behavior often indicated a virus at work. But today, viruses are designed to be less detectable and to not draw attention by using less computer resources, Longsine added. An infected computer may appear to run perfectly normally.

“A clear and strong increasing trend” reveals botnets are rapidly becoming more aggressive, powerful, sophisticated, stealthy and efficient, Di Mino said.

“Modern botnets are smarter,” Longsine said. “It’s becoming more difficult to discover, investigate and monitor botnet activity.”

Botnets’ typical actions are criminal, according to the experts.

“Accessing certain computer systems without permission is a crime,” Longsine said. “The typical activities of botnets, such as stealing credit card and bank account information, and stealing money using that stolen data” are also clearly criminal acts.

But the “good guys” trying to monitor and stop botnets may also be breaking the law.

“The activities required to track and investigate botnets might themselves be illegal, even though no harm is intended,” Longsine said. Monitoring botnets often involves remotely examining infected computers without the owners' knowledge, which is illegal.

“It can be quite the cat and mouse game,” Longsine said.

Further, botnets sometimes span states and countries, which complicates investigation and prosecution, Longsine added.

As viruses and botnets rapidly evolve, they are very “difficult to trace to a specific person or group for law enforcement action,” Di Mino said. “However, law enforcement is greatly improving in this area.”

But the “botmasters” responsible for creating and running botnets are often well-funded and organized, Longsine said.

These activities are the up-and-coming face of Internet-based crime, often called cyber crime.

“There are so many different types of Internet crimes,” said Katie McDevitt, the community affairs specialist for the Tempe police department, in an e-mail.

People often associate Internet crime with activities such as selling stolen goods on auction Web sites, advertising for prostitution, stalking, harassment, threats and crimes against children, such as child pornography or adults contacting minors for sex.

The types of crimes falling under the umbrella of Internet crime “are clearly all very different,” McDevitt added.

These devastating types of cyber crime continue to occur every day. But Internet crimes caused by viruses and botnets are increasing at an exponential, stunning pace.

To safeguard against botnet-related cyber crime, people should update their computers regularly and have mainstream, current anti-virus software installed, Di Mino said.

People should also avoid accessing “questionable sites” or links, installing dubious software or opening suspicious e-mails and attachments. “The best method of defense is basically common sense,” Di Mino added.

“Without precautions, it is pretty easy to become infected,” Di Mino said. Botnets are “very widespread and determined to find you.”