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McAfee: Cyber Cold War is imminent

By Stevie Smith Nov 30, 2007, 10:05 GMT

According to a report released this week by Internet security expert McAfee, the prospect of an online cyber cold war is looming large on the horizon and could become one of the most significant threats to security over the course of the next ten years, says the Reuters news agency. McAfee warns against approaching cyber cold war set to be waged between rival intelligence agencies. Credit: RussiaBlog

McAfee warns against approaching cyber cold war set to be waged between rival intelligence agencies. Credit: RussiaBlogMcAfee’s projections suggest that approximately 120 countries around the world are in the process of developing different ways to turn the Internet into a weapon of espionage. Once duly armed those willing to use it would be able to launch attacks on vital infrastructure elements in other countries, such as financial markets and government computer systems and utilities."Cybercrime is now a global issue," said Jeff Green, senior VP of McAfee’s Avert Labs. "It has evolved significantly and is no longer just a threat to industry and individuals but increasingly to national security."McAfee also offers that governments must react swiftly by developing better defensive contingencies if they wish to avoid being hit by sophisticated online espionage attacks that are being engineered by rival intelligence agencies.When looking for a country to label as working on the shadowy frontline in the evolving cyber war, McAfee’s report points accusatory fingers in the direction of China, which it says has already been implicated in various attacks against the likes of Germany, India, and the United States. China has denied executing any such online espionage.McAfee’s report, which was compiled with the assistance of Britain’s Serious Organised Crime Agency, NATO, and the FBI, warns that thousands of cyber attacks launched against private and government Web sites in Estonia during the months of April and May are but "the tip of the iceberg."In relation to the Estonia attacks, an unnamed NATO source contributed to the report by outlining that the "complexity and coordination seen was new," with the attackers taking advantage of "careful timing using different techniques and specific targets."EU Information Society commissioner Viviane Reding has commented that "urgent work" is required to improve government security in light of the Estonia attacks, which McAfee supports by claiming that future cyber attacks will only become more evolved as funding and organisation increases to support them.

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RogérNov 30th, 2007 - 11:09:03

Ahhh, McAffee, trying to drum-up business for itself.

In my view, this is about the creepiest sw company around -- when their software slowed down my laptop consistently, I attempted to de-install it ... at first an impossible feat. Even when turning to the company's sw support people, they couldn't (wouldn't?) help me.

Finally, I backed-up all my files and the personal stuff, formatted the hard drive and re-installed Windows and Office and all the relevant apps.

It's a challenge to get rid of McAffee's crap, once one makes the mistake to let them infect (!) your system. Subsequent laptops were looked at also by determining that they had NOT McAffee installed on them.

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