Cybersecurity experts share their 'nightmares'

Cybersecurity experts from around the world meeting on ways to protect the Internet say they still have fears of "nightmare" scenarios in which attacks could cripple critical computer networks.

"I live in a world of nightmares," Patrick Pailloux, director general of France's Network and Information Security Agency, told participants in the first Worldwide Cybersecurity Summit which ended on Wednesday.

"Each subject is a nightmare: electricity, power grids, transportation, airplanes, water supply, finance, the banking system, the health system," Pailloux said. "My biggest nightmare is that we don't have enough time to prepare us for the nightmares," said the head of France's cyber defense efforts.

Hackers set sights on Web apps

Cyber criminals are stepping up efforts to target South African Internet users to steal personal and confidential information for financial gain. This is according to Dino Covotsos, CEO of Telspace Systems; a sponsor of next week's ITWeb Security Summit in Sandton.

“There are huge security risks at the moment and it's imperative that, in the future, companies and individuals look after their information security. The more prominent the country gets in terms of the World Cup, the more cyber criminals will be targeting SA.”

With 35 days to go until the Fifa World Cup, Covotsos claims a lot of local companies plan to deploy security procedures and policies over the tournament period. However, he adds many companies have started this process too late in the game.

'Cyberwar' A Misused Term

Some officials and computer security companies are arguing that the World Wide Web is battlefield in a “cyberwar” that has armies of hackers stealing online secrets and using the Internet to attack the mainframe of many real world companies.

However, some security analysts countered that image saying this week at a conference that “cyberwarfare” is such a generally used term that it may be hurting efforts by many countries on how to cooperate when it comes to Internet security.

The United Nations, for instance, rejected a Russian proposal last month for a new treaty on cybercrime, according to the Associated Press (AP). That touched off a rift with the US and European countries, which support a 2001 treaty that Russia claims gives foreign governments too much flexibility to electronically pursue criminals across borders.