Cybercriminals acting on behalf of national governments and nation-backed espionage agents carrying out cybercrimes for cash on the side is the future of security threats facing corporations and governments, says the former top U.S. attorney in charge of the Department of Justice’s national security division. “I think this blending of criminal and national security, whether it’s terrorists or state actors moonlighting as crooks or state actors using criminal groups as a way to distance themselves from the action, I think that is a trend that we saw increasing that’s just going to continue to increase over the next three to five years,” says John Carlin, now an attorney with Morrison & Foerster .