Cyber attacks on critical global systems rising
April 19th, 2011 - 6:03 pm ICT by ANILondon, Apr. 19 (ANI): Internet-based attacks on critical systems such as gas, power and water have increased around the world, a report suggests.
Security firm McAfee surveyed 200 IT executives working for utility companies in 14 countries.
Eight out of 10 said hackers had targeted their networks during the past year.
China was seen as the most likely source of attacks, followed by Russia and the United States.
The number of reported incidents was higher than in 2009 when just over half of those asked said they had fallen victim.
Most of the reported security breaches took the form of distributed denial of service (DDOS) attacks.These typically involve a network of computers, under the control of criminals, overwhelming a company’s internet-connected systems.
While such incidents have the potential to impact websites and corporate networks, researchers said it was unlikely they were intended to cut off energy supplies.
However, there remained a possibility that DDOS attacks could do more harm in future, according to Stewart Baker, a former US national security advisor to President George W Bush and one of the report’s authors. (ANI)
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