One fixture of computer break-in stories is the estimated cost of these crimes. The price often runs as high as seven figures—totals hard to ken for merely pilfering the digits out of a few boxes of metal, plastic and silicon.

One source of these high figures is the Department of Justice. Last year, the agency reported that a one-night hacking spree by a disgruntled ex-employee set back Cyber City, a computer network consultancy, more than $100,000—and that Acxiom, a data broker, spent more than $7 million to repair 139 remote attacks against its database.

By Michael Jackman at CIO.

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