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Seeking to address a problem that industry experts say is growing exponentially, officials at a Santa Clara, California-based security technology announced that they’re launching an online center to help diagnose cybercrime and help victims recover.

 

According to McAfee Inc., cybercrime victims often don’t even know they’ve been attacked, despite the fact that consumers have lost nearly $8.5 billion over the past two years to computer-related thefts.

 

McAfee (News - Alert) President and Chief Executive Officer Dave DeWalt said that his company’s so-called “Cybercrime Response Unit” is designed to bring resources to victims immediately.

 

“This is part of our continued effort to fight cybercrime,” he said.

 

Essentially, the unit helps consumers and small business owners identify whether they’ve been attacked, then recommends next steps. The free online service then directs victims to appropriate law enforcement, credit agencies and other resources.

 

Those steps may sound rudimentary, but if Internet users sign up for the service, the system could raise the profile of cybercrime and represent a solid foundation on which to build.

 

In any case, if little or nothing is done, cybercriminals likely will continue to profit.

 

And profit they have.

 

Officials with one Cupertino, California-based security, storage and systems management solutions provider say they’re seeing malicious code grow at a record pace. Officials with Symantec Corp. say in a new report that the malicious code primarily targets computer users’ confidential information.

 

According to Stephen Trilling, vice president of the company’s security technology and response group, Symantec (News - Alert) also is seeing attackers shift away from mass distribution of a few threats to micro-distribution of millions of distinct threats.

 

“Cybercriminals are profiting from creating and distributing customized threats that steal confidential information, particularly bank account credentials and credit card data,” Trilling said. “While the above ground economy suffers, the underground economy has remained consistently steady.”

 

That recalls some of what TMCnet heard recently from the world’s largest maker of computer networking gear. Officials at Cisco Systems Inc. say that cyber-criminals’ attacks are becoming more targeted and sophisticated.

 

Also, security experts from Google Inc. told us in an interview that spammers are leveraging people’s fears in this down economy.

 

Pamela Warren, a cybercrime strategist with McAfee, said that the new unit will be extremely useful to victims who don’t know where to turn.

 

“Regardless of what the cybercrime is, you can come here and get help,” Warren said.