The increasing dependence of modern societies' service and economic infrastructures on ICT makes them attractive targets for terrorists intent upon doing significant harm to the security and quality of life of countries they have targeted as enemies. ICT also provides opportunities for criminals to hide incriminating data under password-protected, file-sharing Web sites; e-mail accounts; and less reputable content providers hosted in countries with lax countermeasures. As ICT is used as a medium for financial transactions and the storage and transmitting of important data, sophisticated criminal hackers will attempt various means of access to the data in order to perpetrate financial crimes, identity theft, and espionage. The use of prepaid cards and smart cards as electronic payment technologies are examples of possible threats in the next 2 years in Australia. Other criminal threats that benefit from ICT are abuses of online gaming and gambling, money laundering, and the sexual exploitation of children through seductions and offensive content in Internet "chat rooms." The next wave of security threats involving ICT will be targeted attacks against specific organizations or individuals. A particular household's computer may be targeted as a vector to support intrusions into more valuable targets. Prevention at both consumer and business levels will remain important. Countermeasures must include appropriate legislative reforms that target new offenses, the development of security software and hardware in advance of foreseen criminal strategies, and the use of specially trained task forces to address specific ICT-related crimes. 14 references