"these cyber-crime syndicates aren't really your standard cyber-crime syndicates"

Yes, they are. The problem is that most people still view them as a sneaky gang of nerds doing "nasty" stuff with their computer to make a few extra bucks, not as the thugs they are. Highly organized, extremely well funded crime organizations of the likes of major drug dealer, human trafficking and weapons sales syndicates.

I don't believe for a minute that cyber crime syndicates don't get involved in mentioned 'old school' crimes, and vice versa. More likely that they are the same people that simply found a new "revenue stream".

And as they have the means to pay a lot more than the industry would they get the best developers working for them. That is at least what we have to assume looking at the sophistication of their 'products'.

Don't make the mistake to always assume involvement of some "governmental authorities" whenever things become "big" like some conspiracy theory dimwit (although I like conspiracy theories for their entertainment value ;-) ).

The Mafia, Mob, Syndicates or whatever you want to call it have always had the advantage of being better funded and less restricted in their methods than the authorities who ought to wipe them out. They can go where no governmental organization ever could.

And they are actually not even that "organized", more a huge but lose conglomerate of small groups with the same interests working together where it suits them. There is no master plan, no uber boss. No single point to take out to stop it all.

It you want to get rid of an Ant plague in your garden, poison the queen, and the case is solved (until the next tribe moves into the same den). In this case I guess it is more like fighting rats or roaches. In every way...