Online espionage a global industry

 

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By Stuart Turton

Posted on 29 Nov 2007 at 10:33

Around 120 countries are actively engaged in online espionage, according to a new report from McAfee.

According to the report, the attacks are growing in sophistication as governments and criminal groups wake up to the potential of internet espionage and begin funding operations.

This funding has led to bolder attacks on crucial national networks, such as electrical grids, air traffic control, financial markets and government computers.

"Cybercrime is now a global issue," says Jeff Green, senior vice president of McAfee Avert Labs. "It has evolved significantly and is no longer just a threat to industry and individuals but increasingly to national security."

"We're seeing emerging threats from increasingly sophisticated groups attacking organisations around the world. Technology is only part of the solution, and over the next five years we will start to see international governments take action."

Online espionage has shot to prominence in the last year, with the US openly pointing the finger at the Chinese government after admitting earlier this year that hackers, possibly working for the government, had managed to breach its network defences. A charge vehemently denied by the Chinese authorities, despite being reiterated by the UK government which claimed that its networks were under sustained attack.

The report also notes how organised markets have grown up around the sale and support of malware and the identification of exploitable security flaws, which it claims can be worth around $75,000 on the open market.

A similar conclusion was reached by Carnegie Mellon University earlier in the year after its investigation highlighted the presence of "online black markets" for malware.