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Eugene Kaspersky, the Russian cyber sleuth who last week revealedthe most sophisticated virus yet targeting Iran , was greeted as a hero at the Tel Aviv University conference ondigital security Wednesday. He didn't pretend not to knowwhy, any more than the Israeli audience that played along with thecoy remarks its officials have made about the country's rolein the digital espionage bedeviling the Iranian program. "Maybe there are some people here who are not happy with workI was doing with Stuxnet and Flame ," he told an audience of more than 1,000 at theuniversity's annual International Conference on CyberSecurity. (Stuxnet was the previous virus that hit Iran, targetingits nuclear program; Flame hit the petroleum industry.) Then thekeynote speaker, clad in jeans and an untucked linen shirt, leanedforward and said in a stage whisper, "I'm reallysorry." Waves of laughter and applause followed."It's not personal," Kaspersky went on, drawingout the laughter, which had a quality of mutual congratulation."It's my job…. So next time, be morecareful." But when the room quieted down, the guru got serious.Cyber-weapons, Kaspersky advised,"are a very very badidea." Whatever advanced knowledge allowed engineers tofashion the malicious software targeted at Iran's nuclearprogram will, in short order, become known to other nations, hesaid, and next time could well be directed back at the originators— the very worry President Obama reportedly voiced i n approving the digital espionage in a joint program with Israel. "I'm afraid that in the future there will be othercountries in this game," Kaspersky said. "It'sonly software. Maybe ‘hacktivists' will becomecyber-terrorists. And maybe the traditional terrorists will be intouch with the cyber-terrorists. ( MORE: Report: Obama, Israel Behind Stuxnet Worm and Accelerated IranCyberattacks ) "My message is: Stop doing that before it's too late.The ideas are spreading too fast. There is a genie in abottle." Kaspersky, who was introduced as one of the top four experts oncyber-security in the world, pointed out that cyber-weapons"can replicate," as Stuxnet did escaping the Iraniancentrifuge machinery that was its sole intended target andinfecting computers around the globe. Flame is even more complex,monitoring computers it has infected and even recordingconversations; it appears to infect computers disguised as a legitimate Microsoft Windows update . The Russian said his concern is the vulnerability of civilianinfrastructure that relies on computer operating systems such as Microsoft Windows, which cannot be hardened against attack. The only wayto secure systems that deliver water, electricity and the economyis through a newly designed OS with security at its core. And untilthat new system is developed, he said, any country that launches adigital attack is running a terrific risk. "There are a lotof software engineers in Israel, I know," he said. "ButI don't think there are enough to do it in three or fiveyears." In the meantime, he said, "I'm afraidthat that cyber-boomerang may get back to you." Silence greeted the warning. Earlier in the day, Israeli defenseminister Ehud Barak acknowledged for the first time publicly thatthe Jewish state has an offensive cyber-warfare capability. The acknowledgment came, however, as part of an emphatic assertion that defendingagainst cyber-attacks is far more important: "Our goalwith cyber defense, which is the more important and difficultcomponent, is to prevent damage," he said. "It is morethan we can benefit from an offensive action, even though bothaspects exist.". We are high quality suppliers, our products such as Dune Buggy Accessories , ATV All Terrain Vehicle Manufacturer for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Utility Terrain Vehicles.
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