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SANTA CLARA, Calif., 30 Nov. 2007. A rise in international computer spying will pose the single biggest security threat in 2008, report experts at computer security firm McAfee Inc. in Santa Clara, Calif.
McAfee's annual cyber security study, released 29 Nov., identifies major cyber threats to online services such as banking, and the emergence of a complex and sophisticated market for malware.
Targets of cyber spies and cyber terrorists who seek to use the Internet as a weapon against companies, utilities, and national governments include critical national infrastructure network systems such as electricity, air traffic control, financial markets and government computer networks, McAfee says in its Virtual Criminology Report, which examines emerging global cyber security trends, with input from NATO, the FBI, SOCA and experts from leading groups and universities.
"Technology is only part of the solution, and over the next five years we will start to see international governments take action," says Jeff Green, senior vice president of McAfee Avert Labs and product development.
In addition, the McAfee report says 120 countries are now using the Internet for Web espionage operations; many attacks originate from China, and the Chinese government has publicly stated that it is pursuing activities in cyber espionage.
Nor only that, but cyber assaults have become more sophisticated, and are designed to slip under government cyber defenses; attacks are well-funded and well-organized operations for political, military, economic, and technical espionage; and governments and allied groups are using the Internet for cyber spying and cyber attacks.
"Cybercrime is now a global issue," Green says. "It has evolved significantly and is no longer just a threat to industry and individuals but increasingly to national security. We're seeing emerging threats from increasingly sophisticated groups attacking organizations around the world."
Among the increasingly sophisticated threats to personal data and online services are genetically modified 'super' malware programs that are more resilient, are modified like recombinant DNA; phishing via VoIP; hacking into telephone networks to make long distance phone calls; and a potential run on banks
Furthermore, demand to buy and sell software flaws like back-door vulnerabilities with no available patch to fix them is fueling a virtual arms trade in potentially significant security threats, McAfee says. Software flaws can fetch as much as $75,000.
For more information, or to download the McAfee Virtual Criminology Report 2007, contact McAfee online at www.mcafee.com.
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