[infowar.de] WEF/Cyber Attacks "we are at war"

[Nick Lüthi - puncto <nick - luethi -! - puncto - ch>]

Infowar.de, http://userpage.fu-berlin.de/~bendrath/liste.html
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auch darüber wird derzeit am jahrestreffen des wef in davos/ch diskutiert:

"People don't realize that we are at war, said André Kudelski, President and Chief Executive Officer, Kudelski Group, Switzerland. Computer networks are under constant attack by would-be hackers."

http://www.weforum.org/site/knowledgenavigator.nsf/Content/Cyber+Attacks+and+Society?open&event_id=975&year_id=2003
      Cyber Attacks and Society 
      24.01.2003 
      Annual Meeting 2003 
      Two or three years ago a session like this would have been considered science fiction, said Stephen Cole, Main Presenter, BBC World TV, United Kingdom. The proliferation of faster networks, wireless networks, and personal devices for sensitive information multiply the ease and potential damage of a cyber attack. And while investments are being made in disaster recovery, many businesses have yet to recognize the risk of an attack to their networks. 

      People don't realize that we are at war, said André Kudelski, President and Chief Executive Officer, Kudelski Group, Switzerland. Computer networks are under constant attack by would-be hackers. Some hackers are the cyber-equivalent of vandals, others determined thieves. In either case, we need to infiltrate the hacker community to discover risks before they materialize. Until we can devise a new architecture for the Internet, the computing world is playing catch-up with the hackers. And if secrecy is lost it cannot be recovered.

      Erkki Liikanen, Commissioner, Enterprise and Information Society, European Commission, Brussels, noted how essential services - hospitals, schools, utilities - have become dependent on computer networks. Attack the networks and you can shut down a city, he said. The migration to broadband connections multiplies the opportunity for attack. But highlighting the risks could potentially undermine confidence in e-commerce, discouraging companies from availing themselves of the productivity gains it affords.

      Government shouldn't interfere where business can function, he added. But in a few weeks, Liikanen pointed out, Europe's authorities will start operating a computer security network capable of alerting the corporate networking community when an attack occurs, preventing a spread. But he suggested that industry sectors create their own security networks to facilitate the spread of information across jurisdictions. 

      Alex Mandl, Chief Executive Officer, Gemplus International, France, said the failure of the changeover to the year 2000 on computers to disrupt networks undermined corporate concern about network security. It may take the network equivalent of 9/11 before business gets serious about the problem, he said. In creating security frameworks, government and the private sector have to cooperate. Government doesn't have the capacity to police the Internet, he said, and the private sector can't coordinate a solution on its own. 

      The press got Y2K wrong said Leonard H. Schrank, Chief Executive Officer, SWIFT, Belgium. The money invested preparing networks for the millennium was not wasted, he said, it forestalled a catastrophe. If we are to avoid a financial Chernobyl in the future, we need to imagine and analyse what would happen if certain systems were hit. Hackers have access to technology on the Internet today that ten years ago even the CIA couldn't get. "I've never been more secure and felt more insecure," he said. Schrank also advised against the creation of a computer security czar in government: Government and business have to work together to build a framework for security, he said. 

      Malcolm Williamson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Visa International, USA, said it was clear there was a growing problem, one growing more complex every day as networks get faster and carry increasingly enormous amounts of mission-critical data. Attacks are growing more frequent, though many go unreported. And while financial information networks like Visa can control their member banks, more of those banks are outsourcing their networks to third-party services, multiplying the opportunity for attack. But without a deadline, the search for solutions lacks urgency. Somehow, he said, we have to inject urgency into solving this.

      Creating legislation from country to country, Williamson warned, carries the risk of creating a Tower of Babel for international businesses. There is an urgent need for a cross-border communication channel to raise awareness and promote best practice on security policies. 



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puncto Pressebüro

Nick Lüthi, Journalist BR

Postfach 7635
3001 Bern
Tel. 031/333'50'33
Fax 031/333'50'10
Cell 076/374'03'24

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"Man muss zumindest versuchen zu beschreiben, was man nicht verändern kann."
R.W. Fassbinder

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