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The threat of cyber-terrorism is growing and most
countries are vulnerable to attacks that can shut down critical
infrastructure, global experts told a conference here Tuesday.
"The hard reality is that
(information technology) has become a tool for cybercrime and
cyberterrorism," said Hamadoun Toure from the United Nations'
International Telecommunications Union.
"Cybersecurity must be the
cornerstone of every aspect of keeping ourselves, our countries and
our world safe," he told the conference, which the Malaysian
hosts are billing as the first on cyber-terrorism and security.
Toure dismissed as a dangerous
myth the idea that events in the virtual world have only a limited
impact on the physical world, saying that technology has
"changed the dynamics of terrorism".
Small groups or even individuals
are capable of gaining control of millions of computers "which
can be used, for instance, to launch denial-of-service attacks on a
nation's critical infrastructure," he said.
Malaysia said it was launching a
global centre to combat cyber-terrorism which will provide an
emergency response to high-tech attacks on economies and trading
systems around the world.
Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad
Badawi said the centre, which is expected to be built by the end of
the year at the nation's IT hub of Cyberjaya, south of Kuala Lumpur,
will be funded by governments and the private sector.
"Every aspect of our daily
lives, from communications, public utilities, financial networks to
national defence... are highly dependent on information and
communications technology to function," he told the conference.
Abdullah said the threat of
cyber-terrorism could no longer be ignored by governments,
especially in the most "wired" parts of the world.
"The extent of harm and
damage that these cyber-threats can pose to our societies and
nations should never be underestimated. Any vulnerability can easily
be exploited to bring about truly catastrophic consequences,"
he said.
Eugene Kaspersky, founder and CEO
of Russian-based anti-virus experts Kaspersky Lab, said the number
of cyber-criminals had leapt more than tenfold since last year.
"This means the Internet
environment is getting more dangerous... there's nothing to stop
them," he said.
David Thompson, chief information
officer of anti-virus systems manufacturer Symantec Corp., said that
the risk of cyber-terrorism grew as nations became more developed.
"Most countries are
vulnerable to cyber terrorism, it's just that some are more prepared
than others," he said.
--AFP
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