Sixty-three percent of respondents to a survey into attitudes towards cyber warfare, believe it is acceptable for their country to spy on other nations by hacking or installing malware. Of those polled, 23% said yes at any time; 40% said only during wartime; and 37% said no.
This was revealed by security giant Sophos in its mid-year 2010 Security Threat Report. “The survey of 1 077 computer users revealed some alarming attitudes towards international cyber-espionage,” says the company.
Respondents were asked questions including whether they thought spying via hacking or malware attacks is an acceptable practice and if the computer networks of private companies in other countries are legitimate targets.
One in 14 respondents said that crippling denial of service attacks against another country's communication or financial Web sites are acceptable during peacetime (49% said only in wartime; 44% said never).
In addition, 32% believe countries should be allowed to plant malware and hack into private foreign companies in order to spy for economic advantage, with 23% saying this was only acceptable in war time, and 9% in peacetime.
Brett Myroff, CEO of regional Sophos distributor, Sophos SA, says while it is surprising that so many people seem to think using the Internet as a tool for spying, or even as a weapon, is acceptable practice, by giving the green light to these kinds of activities, they'd have to expect to be on the receiving end too. “Perhaps yours will be the next company probed by an overseas power.”
He says 'Operation Aurora', a cyber attack which began in mid-2009 and continued through December 2009, resulted in search engine giant Google accusing Chinese hackers of cyber warfare. It did this because its systems, and those of other companies, were hit with targeted attacks, potentially signalling the most obvious sign yet of a new age of malware.
Myroff says although hacking and malware writing originally operated on a mischievous level, as a hobby to show how clever the authors were, it has evolved into organised criminal activity that is monetised on a massive scale.
“And now, in 2010, it could be argued that the third motivation is using malware and the Internet to gain commercial, political and military advantage over others,” he concludes.
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