Eugene Kaspersky: Hackers expanding the ‘internet of threats’

[Venustus]

Cyber security expert Eugene Kaspersky has warned of an impending wave of attacks on critical infrastructure, as the deluge of connected devices provides hackers with more opportunities to wreak physical damage.

Mr Kaspersky, who was in Australia for the AusCERT security conference, said businesses and governments had to be wary of the evolving security landscape, as the ‘‘internet of threats’’ proliferates.

With his global security firm Kaspersky tackling more than 300,000 malicious attacks per day, Mr Kaspersky warns that critical infrastructure, like transportation and telecommunications, is very much on the radar of hackers.

“Last year there was a cyber attack on a German steel mill; their industrial network was attacked,” Mr Kaspersky said. “The result was an emergency shutdown and mass physical damage because of that. There was also a plane crash last year that killed six due to a software configuration issue. These attacks are designed not just to steal your data, not just to steal your bank account information, but to kill. This is the worst-case scenario.”

His comments were echoed by F-Secure’s chief research officer Mikko Hypponen, who said extremist groups were quickly becoming a physical and cyberspace threat. ISIS had established “arguably the best cyber offensive capability of any extremist movement out there,” he said at the AusCERT conference.

“We still haven’t seen real physical damage being done by any extremist group… but these guys are the first ones that actually have some existing hackers who have joined them and moved in from the West,” Mr Hypponen said.

Mr Kaspersky, who has just signed a contract to protect the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet and its 2500 employees across Australia, said he co-operated with other security companies like F-Secure to “help each other to see the different pieces of the puzzle”.

He said attributing an attack to a particular state or group of people was extremely difficult, but he could often see what language the attackers use, with most coming from Chinese-speaking countries. Last week’s attack on the US Office of Personnel Management, which saw the records of about four million government staff compromised, was suspected to be the work of China-based hackers.

With corporations and governments spending millions on protecting sensitive information, Mr Kaspersky said that there was no silver bullet solution.

“Unfortunately there is no such thing as 100 per cent security,” he said. “If the attackers are professional enough, and have enough of a budget, I think almost every system can be hacked.”

When it comes to the issue of how agencies can combat cybercrime without trampling on civil liberties, Mr Kaspersky thinks the debate will be “endless’’.

Source

 

[frogboy]

Some very comforting thoughts in this article.

 

[Venustus]

I know,but it is the reality that we face!!

 

[frogboy]

I know,but it is the reality that we face!!

I think so worst luck, but i hope it is all wrong for all our sake.

 

[LabZero]

The problem , in my opinion, must be tackled conscientiously strengthening security infrastructure but especially forming and informing users.

Too many people do not understand the importance of prevention from cyber-attacks and malware.

 

[OokamiCreed]

I'm having trouble trusting Kaspersky. Enough said. If I wasn't paranoid and if world events and his ties weren't as they were, I'd be using it right now. Kaspersky seems to also take a bunch of data from you. More than most actually. Which actually I don't mind. Not when it comes to AV's since most of the time it's anonymous and can be the difference between a fail and a great product. As for the article itself, it was a good read and very accurate. The guy does know what he is talking about most of the time. He does seem biased though. You can't be biased in the security field.

 

[cruelsister]

"He said attributing an attack to a particular state or group of people was extremely difficult"

Very lucky for him that this is the case.

 

[jamescv7]

Well that's the truth but if AV's behavior are still in present on using any tactics then Ethics is totally dead for a long time. When money can change everything then there's no more turning back.

Eugene Kaspersky nailed it already where cyber attacks can kill people physically which does not really impossible in the category of communication and transportation.