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Governments and industry warned of increasing cyber spying
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03/12/2007
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International cyber spying will pose the single biggest security threat in 2008, according to McAfee’s annual cyber security study.
Other major trends include an increasing threat to online services and the emergence of a sophisticated market for malware.
McAfee’s Virtual Criminology report examines emerging global cyber security trends, with input from NATO, the FBI, SOCA and experts from leading groups and universities.
Its top conclusions:
Governments and allied groups are using the Internet for cyber spying and cyberattacks;
targets include critical national infrastructure network systems such as electricity, air traffic control, financial markets and government computer networks;
120 countries are now using the Internet for Web espionage;
many cyber attacks originate from China;
Cyber assaults have become more sophisticated;
and attacks have progressed from curiosity probes to well-funded and well organised operations for political, military, economic and technical espionage.
According to NATO insiders, many governments are still unaware of the threats facing them from Web espionage. They believe the attack on Estonia, which disrupted government, news and bank servers for several weeks, is just the tip of the iceberg in cyber warfare.
“Traditional protective measures were not enough to protect against the attacks on Estonia’s critical national infrastructure,” say the report’s authors. “Unsurprisingly, botnets were used but the complexity and coordination seen was new. There were a series of attacks with careful timing using different techniques and specific targets. The attackers stopped deliberately rather than being shut down.”
“Cybercrime is now a global issue,” says Jeff Green, senior vice president of McAfee Avert Labs. “It has evolved significantly and is no longer just a threat to industry and individuals, but increasingly to national security. Technology is only part of the solution, and over the next five years we will start to see international governments take action.”
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Author
Staff reporter
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