Even as local investigators make strides in combating computer-related crimes, a disturbing pattern of thefts and intrusions is taking shape.

Federal prosecutors in Kansas City recently charged two persons with hacking into their former employers' computer systems after they had left their jobs. In one incident, the hacker stole thousands of dollars from a bank account.

The Kansas City cases are part of a growing number of incidents across the country in which former employees broke into company computers. It is the kind of crime that has caught the attention of top law enforcement officials across the country.

“This is just the tip of the spear on some of the cases that we're beginning to see,'' said Todd Graves, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Missouri.

No single source offers comprehensive, national statistics on computer intrusions.

Nonetheless, anecdotal evidence suggests that this type of computer crime is a serious and rapidly growing concern.

Last month, U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft announced Operation Cyber Sweep, a collaborative effort among several federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to target online economic crimes.

The U.S. Secret Service's electronic crimes task force now partners with banking, telecommunications and computer industry giants to identify schemes and assist prosecutions.

The federal government also has rolled out plans for five regional computer-forensic labs across the country to tackle terrorist activity and other aspects of cybercrime. One such crime lab opened in Kansas City, North, in July.

Computer intrusions are the fastest-growing cybercrime in the Kansas City area, accounting for 15 percent of computer-crime cases, said FBI spokesman Jeff Lanza.

“The high proliferation of this crime, the vulnerability of personal information and the potential economic ramifications make computer crimes a definite priority for us,” Lanza said.

Investigators are finding that hackers who target former employers often are motivated by the same factors that motivate the typical cyberintruder: money, revenge and thrill-seeking.

For Anne Marie Kamuyu, for instance, it was money.

The former Kansas City woman worked as a local bank teller until May 2002. She noticed an account that kept a large balance. Kamuyu made note of the personal identification numbers needed to access it.

She moved to Omaha, Neb. Federal prosecutors alleged that on 15 occasions between Aug. 12 and Sept. 23, 2002, Kamuyu electronically debited funds from that account to pay her bills.

Last month, Kamuyu admitted in federal court to stealing $11,668, on Sept. 10, 2002, money she used to buy a car. No sentencing date has been scheduled.

Authorities around the country are taking on ex-employees who hack into their former employers' computer system.

For instance, in October, a California man pleaded guilty to hacking into his employer's computer system two weeks after he was fired. He deleted scores of files and crippled the computer server so severely that the company's Taiwan office was unable to access data for several days.

Investigating these cybercrimes can be challenging. Hackers often will use one computer as a launch pad to access other computers or use software programs to steal personal information.

In July, a 24-year-old New York City man pleaded guilty to installing keylogging software on computer terminals at several local Kinko's stores. The software secretly recorded keystroke activity on those computers, which he used to collect computer usernames and passwords. He then used the confidential information to access computer users' bank accounts and to fraudulently open online bank accounts.

“Hackers use these methods to cloak their activities, but that doesn't prevent us from finding out who the original person is on the other end,'' Lanza said. “Provided the computers used to commit the crime recorded the necessary information, we can follow the string right back to the suspect.”

The ongoing challenge for law enforcement officials will be in keeping up with hacking techniques.

“We are definitely playing catch up in this area,'' Graves said. “We're constantly trying to make sure that we're at front end of this curve.”

Independently, companies can do their part, said Dennis Behrman, a research analyst with Financial Insights, a Massachusetts-based business technology advisory firm.

Software and services are available to help protect sensitive files, and background checks on prospective employees can weed out possible troublemakers. Also, businesses can adopt guidelines restricting access to databases and to safeguard passwords, Behrman said.

Still, none of these measures is fail-safe.

“These hackers can be so intelligent and agile that it can be difficult keeping up,'' Behrman said. “That doesn't mean that businesses should give up. But in many ways it is a road that never ends.”

To reach Tanyanika Samuels, call (816) 234-4376 or send e-mail to tsamuels@kcstar.com.