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SA vulnerable to 'cyber terrorism`

Martin Czernowalow
By Martin Czernowalow, Contributor.
Johannesburg, 17 Nov 2005

South Africa is tipped to face an "onslaught of cyber attacks" within the next three months, as syndicates are expected to turn away from security-conscious regions like Europe and the US, a local expert predicts.

Derek Nareen, 3Com business development manager, government and parastatal, says most local enterprises are not seeing the urgency of intensifying their security measures, as the country has not yet seen a spate of serious Internet-based attacks.

Nareen claims "cyber unfriendly attacks" or "cyber terrorism", which include threats such as phishing and pharming, are often not easy to predict or monitor, so the best remedy is prevention.

"The Internet is a powerful weapon. You must ask yourself: 'Am I at risk and how vulnerable am I?`" He adds that South African enterprises are not doing enough to secure themselves against attacks.

"The flood is coming. But what prevents most enterprises from upping their security levels is the cost. IT security is on the priority list, but it is also the first thing to be moved down if something else come up."

Nareen also maintains that enterprises should exercise caution when considering what type of information they put out over the Internet.

"We need to be wary about what is put out in the public eye. Sensitive information often sits in a domain where it can be accessed and abused. The onus is on every individual to exercise common sense," he says.

"We have to be responsible and monitor Internet activities to be aware of who is accessing what type of information."

But Nareen argues that it is not only the private sector that is vulnerable, but also government. The national Department of Home Affairs is open to abuse by illegal immigrants, who increasingly rely on electronic methods to steal identities, he says.

A more worrying aspect of the Internet as a weapon is that it can be used by terrorist groups as a launch pad for their activities, he says, adding that this is already happening on a global scale.

"Terrorists using the Internet to achieve their aims is fact, not fiction. Whereas it`s unlikely that an Internet-based terrorist attack can kill a person sitting somewhere in front of their PC, these attacks can cause situations of chaos and mayhem, which could lead to people being killed indirectly."

Nareen claims, it is not unlikely that terrorists can use the Internet to, for instance, hack into hospitals and change prescription dosages to lethal levels, or to steal identities to move around the world.

"It`s possible. Just because we are not aware of this having happened before doesn`t mean that it can`t happen or that it isn`t happening already. The real start of cyber terrorism was the 9/11 attack. This was a physical attack, but it had electronic and economic consequences which not even the terrorists anticipated.

"Now it`s likely that terrorism will simply move directly to electronic attacks. The traditional face of terrorism is changing. Today`s terrorists are as hi-tech as anyone."

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