When you consider the terrible aesthetic impact of physical terrorism it's hard to take cyber terrorism seriously. It's a phrase that makes you think of a few fat teenagers from 4chan taking pops at the likes of the West Borough Baptist Church. But Cyber terrorism is a very serious threat. It could be seen as the future of warfare. Governments who would normally spend billions of pounds on weaponry and lose thousands of lives of soldiers could now theoretically take down an 'enemy' with a Mac and a computer expert from MI5. You may think I'm doom mongering but think about the reliance we have on the internet. Attacking a banks computer for example has the potential to crimple an entire economy which would be devastating.
A big wake-up call came last year thanks to a Stuxnet worm which hit Iran’s nuclear programme. Symantec Corp said a few days ago, “Last year was the year of high-profile targeted attacks. We will see so many more.” Thankfully the worm was stopped but if it wasn't. The possibilities don't bear thinking about.
In total, the number of measured Web-based attacks rose 93 percent in 2010 from a year ago, boosted by proliferation of shortened Internet addresses, Symantec said in its annual threat review.
“Last year, attackers posted millions of these shortened links on social networking sites to trick victims into both phishing and malware attacks, dramatically increasing the rate of successful infection. The major mobile platforms are finally becoming ubiquitous enough to garner the attention of attackers. Attackers are really following the consumers here.” Symantec said.
Big companies are taking notice. But the frightening thing is that Cyber Terrorism hits us at all levels. When it comes to the banks and the weapon facilities we have to have faith in their tech security and as Symantec have said they've had a wake-up call and their taking the risk very seriously. But we have to look after ourselves on a personal level. Having a personal details stolen and used in fraud would absolutely ruin our lives.
Take care folks.