LONDON — Organized gangs have adopted "KGB-style" tactics to hire high-flying computer students to commit Internet crime, a report said on Friday.
Criminals are targeting universities, computer clubs and online forums to find undergraduates, according to Internet security firm McAfee.
Some gangs have sponsored promising students from other disciplines to attend computer courses before planting them in businesses as "sleepers."
McAfee said the students write computer viruses, commit identity theft and launder money in a multi-billion dollar industry that is more lucrative than the drugs trade.
The gangs' tactics echo the way Russian agents sought out experts at trade conferences or universities during the Cold War, the company said in an annual report.