Most organizations say they’re getting more serious about security, but the risks are still growing. With war on Iraq underway, the possibility of a terrorist response is on all of our minds. In addition to the other things we have to worry about, this is likely to be the first major war that takes place with the entire world linked together by one continuous set of electronic signals. That creates immense dangers of war-related hacking and cyber-terrorism. Even without war, the risks of cyber-attack have been growing daily. The British consulting firm mi2g said in a report this week that verifiable digital attacks worldwide have caused economic damage of more than $16 billion so far this year, almost double a year earlier. And 64% of digital attacks worldwide have been against North American targets, compared to about 30% a year ago. The attacks themselves are changing, too. “The new kinds of attacks are more malicious, not kids in the basement hacking,” says Jim Kollegger, CEO of BBX Technologies, which makes security software for Windows networks. “We’re seeing arms merchants for digital wars. Some hacker agencies in Bulgaria and China have found holes in the Microsoft fabric and are crafting toolkits to take advantage.” That means anyone can cause trouble. You don’t have to be a good programmer anymore. Full Story
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