Weapons of Mass Disruption - The Super Cyber Wars Have Begun - Shelly Palmer

While we are busy worrying about Kim Kardashian sound bite politics and banning 64 oz cups of sugary soft drinks the first supercyber weapon has been quietly spying on and attacking things it doesn39t like Huge stealthy computer viruses with capabilities that sound like the stuff of science fiction have been hard at work collecting data and data and more data waiting to strike It is now clear we live in a world at war cyber war and this is just the beginningWhile they were busy on assignment from the International Telecommunication Union ITU looking for something else entirely Kaspersky Lab discovered WormWin32Flame amp8211 the world39s first supercyber weapon which Kaspersky Lab named quotFlamequot What makes Flame a supercyber weapon Kaspersky Lab says it is highly sophisticated and malicious with complexity and functionality exceeding all other cyber weapons known to date I don39t know about you but that sounds pretty scary to meKaspersky goes on to say that while quot the features of Flame differ compared with those of previous notable cyber weapons such as Duqu and Stuxnet the geography of attacks use of specific software vulnerabilities and the fact that only selected computers are being targeted all indicate that Flame belongs to the same category quot It39s just more powerful harder to detect harder to understand bigger and nastier than anything they39ve ever seenAs best as anyone can tell Flame quotis designed to carry out cyber espionage It can steal valuable information including but not limited to computer display contents information about targeted systems stored files contact data and even audio conversationsquotTo add to everyone39s anxiety Kaspersky engineers think that Flame may have been deployed as early as March 2010 Why wasn39t it detected until now Welcome to the nature of highly complex highly targeted supercyber weaponsBut this gets more interesting Kaspersky Lab also posited that Flame was so complex and sophisticated that is must have been created by a government entity And as if to validate that assumption shortly after the Kaspersky announcement Moshe Ya39alon Israel39s Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Strategic Affairs said quotFor anyone who sees the Iranian threat as significant it is reasonable that he would take different steps including these in order to hobble itquot He went on to say quotIsrael is blessed with being a country which is technologically rich and these tools open up all sorts of possibilities for usquotBy now you39re probably wondering how this might impact us here in the United States That39s the wrong question The right question is quotHow will this impact youquot Here39s whyMost kinds of malware are colloquially referred to as quotcomputer virusesquot Virus is the metaphor because the computer program exhibits some of the characteristics of biological viruses Viruses aren39t exactly alive but they can procreate replicate mutate and die Computer viruses are very very similar so the metaphor is a good oneAs you know almost every civilized society on Earth has banned the use of chemical weapons Aside from their cruelty the simple fact is that once deployed biological viruses don39t discriminate They can39t tell friend from foe amp8211 right from wrong or good from evil amp8211 those exposed become infected Yes the metaphor Virus is excellent for supercyber weaponsThe simple fact is that the creators of Flame whomever they are did not do as good a job as they could have Flame was discovered Which begs for the questions quotHow many more are out therequot and quotWhat are the targetsquotBy far the most disturbing attributes of supercyber weapons are that intellectual property of this type are neither proprietary nor controllable You can ban all the cyber weapons you like criminalize them stigmatize their usage make all the noise you want amp8211 they can39t be stopped until they are discovered This is an intellectual arms race with zero barriers to entry You don39t need enriched uranium you don39t need controlled substances you don39t need any contraband you don39t need anything but a laptop and a Starbucks card The Starbucks card is for Internet access don39t start thinking that cyberterrorists hang out at Starbucks amp8211 although they mightWho are likely targets Everyone and everything of value such as power plants air traffic control computers banking computers digital medical records and that39s just the stuff that39s easy to imagine Corporate espionage is going to explode In the age of big data information amp8211 especially private proprietary information is a prime targetIs anyone safe No Is any computer immune No Is there anything we can do Yes Get the best virus protection you can afford and keep it updated Purchase cybersecurity insurance and comply with the guidelines so your computers and data are as safe as practical Use common sense and go long on cyber insurance companies and antivirus companies This is not financial advice I39m just trying to be cute Although both cyber insurance and cyber security will be growth industries over the next 20 yearsCommenting on uncovering Flame Eugene Kaspersky CEO and cofounder of Kaspersky Lab said quotThe risk of cyber warfare has been one of the most serious topics in the field of information security for several years now Stuxnet and Duqu belonged to a single chain of attacks which raised cyberwarrelated concerns worldwide The Flame malware looks to be another phase in this war and it39s important to understand that such cyber weapons can easily be used against any country Unlike with conventional warfare the more developed countries are actually the most vulnerable in this casequotShelly Palmer is Fox 5 New York39s Onair Tech Expert WNYWTV and the host of Fox Television39s monthly show Shelly Palmer Digital Living He also hosts United Stations Radio Network39s Shelly Palmer Digital Living Daily a daily syndicated radio report that features insightful commentary and a unique insiders take on the biggest stories in technology media and entertainment He is Managing Director of Advanced Media Ventures Group LLC an industryleading advisory and business development firm and a member of the Executive Committee of the National Academy of Television Arts ampamp Sciences the organization that bestows the coveted Emmyamp174 Awards Palmer is the author of Television Disrupted The Transition from Network to Networked TV 2nd Edition York House Press 2008 the seminal book about the technological economic and sociological forces that are changing everything and Overcoming The Digital Divide How to use Social Media and Digital Tools to Reinvent Yourself and Your Career York House Press 2011 For more information visit shellypalmercomRead all Shelly39s MediaBizBloggers commentaries at Shelly Palmer ReportCheck us out on Facebook at MediaBizBloggerscomFollow our Twitter updates MediaBizBloggerThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaBizBloggerscom management or associated bloggers MediaBizBloggers is an open thought leadership platform and readers may share their comments and opinions in response to all commentaries

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