Today, almost all hacking is done by professional criminals. In many countries, illegal hacking accounts for more crime, dollar-wise, than noncomputer crime. TheUnited Kingdom recently joined that club.
Why is this important? First, if you find malware on your system, there’s a good chance it’s trying to steal your money. Second, no one is getting arrested anytime soon. If you lose anything to cybertheft, don’t expect to get it back — most cybercriminals operate in foreign countries outside U.S. legal jurisdiction.