We've been monitoring a variety of media outlets all discussing news
about a predicted meltdown occurring tomorrow. This came out from
Kaspersky labs this morning (who were cited as part of the source.)
-----Original Message-----
From: news@kaspersky.com [mailto:news@kaspersky.com]
Sent: Wednesday, August 25, 2004 10:29 AM
To: news@kaspersky.com
Subject: VirusList.com Virus Alerts & Virus News: 25th August 2004: Who
knows what tomorrow will bring?
VirusList.com Virus Alerts & Virus News. Wednesday, August 25, 2004
******************************************************************
1. 25th August 2004: Who knows what tomorrow will bring?
2. How to subscribe/unsubscribe
3. Security Rules
****
1. 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.'
**
2. How to subscribe/unsubscribe
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3. Security Rules
To avert unsanctioned attempts to distribute "false" or "forged" email
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support (support@kaspersky.com) so its contents can be examined.
****
Kaspersky Lab News Agent
-----
10 Geroyev Panfilovtcev St., Moscow, 123363, Russia
Telephone./Facsimile: +7 (095) 797 87 00
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