Fw: Kaspersky: Out of Context

Thu Aug 26 11:22:40 UTC 2004


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "InfoSec News" <isn at c4i.org>
To: <isn at attrition.org>
Sent: Thursday, August 26, 2004 5:44 AM
Subject: [ISN] 25th August 2004 


> http://www.viruslist.com/eng/index.html?tnews=461517&id=2100900
> 
> 25th August 2004: Who knows what tomorrow will bring?
> 
> A handful of sites are stating that Eugene Kaspersky, founder of
> Kaspersky Labs, believes that tomorrow will bring a massive terrorist
> attack on the Internet. This is being quoted in a range of ways,
> ranging from factual reporting to citing the story as an example of
> cyber hysteria.
> 
> However, Kaspersky is not predicting the end of the Internet tomorrow
> - or even in the near future. The story stems from brief comments made
> yesterday at a press conference which was dedicated to cybercrime and
> the problems of spam.
> 
> At this press conference, Kaspersky commented that the possibility of
> terrorists using the Internet as a tool to attack certain countries
> was a reality. As an example, he cited the fact that a number of
> Arabic and Hebrew language websites contained an announcement of an
> 'electronic jihad' against Israel, to start on 26th August 2004.
> 
> In an interview today, Kaspersky stressed that such information was
> not necessarily trustworthy. 'We don't know who is behind these
> statements.' He went on to clarify: 'It's not the first time the term
> 'electronic jihad' has been used. We've seen this before, with the
> focus being on sending racist emails, and defacing and hacking Israeli
> web sites. But it is the first time I have seen sites encouraging the
> use of Internet attacks against one country as a form of terrorism.'
> 
> 'As we've already stated many times in the past, it would be easy
> enough to use a network of infected computers to launch such an
> attack. We saw the impact that Sasser, Mydoom and Slammer had, on the
> Internet, businesses and organisations. Just imagine if such an attack
> was directed at one country or one critical point in the
> infrastructure of the Internet. Computers are a tool - and just like
> any tool, they can be used or misused.'
> 
> Kaspersky emphasised that the likelihood of a massive attack directed
> against Israeli institutions tomorrow is low. However, he believes
> that Pandora's box has now been opened. Hackers and virus writers can
> be motivated by a range of factors: money, curiosity, or political
> conviction. But whatever their motivation, the insecure nature of the
> Internet and weak security precautions offer a wealth of
> opportunities.  'Maybe it won't be tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow
> - but sooner or later, terrorists will be using the Internet as
> another weapon in their arsenal.'