Cyber crime invading national security

Techno Page By Harendra Alwis

A report released by internet security company McAfee last week revealed that governments or related bodies of about 120 countries are developing ways to use the internet as a weapon against other countries to target financial markets, government computer systems and utilities.

It also pointed out that many government intelligence agencies routinely monitor other states' networks for weaknesses and that their techniques are growing more sophisticated every year.

This has also made it necessary for governments to check up on their defences against espionage and attacks on infrastructure.

Countries such as China and Russia are often accused of carrying out or attempting to carry out cyber attacks on other nations and China in particular is thought to be the first country to carry out a cyber attack against another nation.

The Chinese and Russian governments however deny such claims. Cyber-attacks on private and government websites in Estonia in April and May this year is said to have affected thousands of sites, almost crippling infrastructure in the country which is heavily dependent on the internet.

The attacks which were of a complexity and a level of coordination that had never been seen before, some experts claimed, seemed to have stemmed initially from Russia although the Kremlin denied any wrongdoing.

What is clear according to the McAfee report however is that cyber-crime is not just a concern for business and individuals, but an issue of national security, as attacks targeting governments and infrastructure have progressed from 'curiosity probes' to well-funded and well-organised operations for political, military, economic and technical espionage.

As some of us look to employ ICT as a tool for conflict resolution and peace building, the information communication networks of the world are themselves being transformed into battle fields. - technopage@gmail.com