This week an elaborate cyber-attack called ‘Flame’ has been detected collecting private data from individuals, businesses, academic institutions and government systems, particularly across the Middle East.
The scariest and most shocking aspect is the length of time that Flame has remained undetected. Kaspersky’s own security experts estimate that Flame has been infecting systems and stealing data for several years, possibly as long as five years. One aspect of the success of this particular malware is due to its ability to log into what’s being said or typed across the many multi-media aspects of today’s desktop PCs and laptops – things like Webcams, microphones and Bluetooth features.
So, what can businesses do to completely eliminate this kind of threat? Do they turn back the clock to the retro 1980s where we relied on dumb terminals? Or do we go back further and reinstate the typewriter? The fact is, the only way to guarantee 100% IT security is to get rid of your IT in the first place, but this is hardly a feasible option.
“What we can be sure of is that there is no end in sight from such threats. There have been many, the most recent hitting the headlines include Stuxnet, Duqu and now Flame. They’ve been causing trouble for years, and there is unfortunately plenty more to come. There are many we never hear about, often hushed up by governments and corporations to hide the embarrassment of a security breach.
Whether governments admit it or not, the threat of Cyber war is a clear and present danger – it is happening, and has been happening, for years. What is evolving fast is the level of complexity these cyber-weapons are gaining, which allows them to remain undetected for long enough to cause lasting damage.
While there are many theories about who is behind these attacks, we know for sure they’re not bored teenagers doing it for fun. While short-tem corporate espionage remains most common threat, more and more Cyber attacks have a strategic, long-term intent which are straining the resources of national intelligence communities. While less common in frequency, there is a growing threats of Cyber attacks causing damage to national infrastructure, industry, and military capabilities – just a few months ago the Norwegian oil, gas and defence sector faced simultaneous Cyber attacks.
Whatever the intent of the hackers, they are getting better and more frequent, and no country is off-limits.