The pirates causing havoc off the coast of Somalia claim to have an international network of support to conduct their ransom operations. From the AP (via Google News): Ahmed Dahir Suleyman is cagey as he talks about the global network that funds and supports piracy off the coast of Somalia. “We have negotiators, translators and agents in many [...]

Organized crime groups in Canada are expanding their portfolios to the capital markets in order to increase their revenues.  From the Canadian Press (via Google News): Major crime groups are recruiting investment professionals to help them move far beyond traditional activities - smuggling, extortion and counterfeiting - into the rarefied world of high finance and market manipulation, [...]

The New York Times has a report on the ongoing battle between computer security experts and those who find weaknesses in the systems. From the NY Times: Internet security is broken, and nobody seems to know quite how to fix it. Despite the efforts of the computer security industry and a half-decade struggle by Microsoft to protect its [...]

Over 5,000 people have been killed in Mexico this year during the ongoing drug war between trafficking cartels and organized crime. From Bloomberg News: Mexican murders associated with organized crime and drug trafficking passed the 5,000 mark for the year, almost twice the number killed in all of 2007. A total of 5,031 people have died this year [...]

A leader of a gang of pirates in the waters of Somalia claims that conditions of poverty will always motivate the pirates. From CNN: Somalis are so desperate to survive that attacks on merchant shipping in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean will not stop, a pirate leader promises. “The pirates are living between life and [...]

White extremists groups are upset over the election of Barack Obama as US President. From the LA Times: Barely three weeks since America elected its first black president, noose hangings, racist graffiti and death threats have struck dozens of towns across the country. More than 200 such incidents — including cross burnings, assassination betting pools and effigies of [...]

The New York Times writes about the killing of an Israeli Mobster last week. From the NY Times: The Alperon hit had dominated the news for days. A narrow strip of a country, Israel has a limited pool of celebrities. So when Mr. Alperon, referred to by many as Israel’s Tony Soprano, was killed at 54, the [...]

Loan sharks in Italy are booming with business as people take out loans at high rates to deal with the economic downturn. From the Chicago Tribune: The worldwide economic downturn has opened the door for loan sharks to burrow ever deeper into Italy’s vulnerable economy by preying on businesses that need quick cash and credit, according to [...]

As pirates continue to hold hostages off the coast of Somalia, the process to pay out ransoms remains a tricky business for those paying. From the Guardian: The lesson from recent years in the Gulf of Aden is that piracy pays, and it is a lesson that has not been lost on the pirates. Piracy is big business [...]

US Government authorities are gaining steam in their ongoing battle against cybergangs. From USA Today: In what is shaping up as a breakthrough year, federal authorities have quietly cracked down on some of the biggest Internet crime rings. Secret Service and FBI operations since January have broken up a huge forum for stolen credit cards and shut down the world’s [...]