A Year's Further Research On an Espionage Network 61
Mortimer.CA writes "Last year researchers discovered a giant electronic spying operation they dubbed GhostNet. Now, after a further year's worth of research, Infowar Monitor has released a new report. The report (Scribbed PDF) documents a complex ecosystem of cyber espionage that systematically targeted and compromised computer systems in India, the Offices of the Dalai Lama, the United Nations, and several other countries. While the servers are in China, the report's authors say that there is 'no evidence in this report of the involvement of the People's Republic of China or any other government in the shadow network.' Furthermore, the 'intruders even stole documents related to the travel of NATO forces in Afghanistan, illustrating that even though the Indian government was the primary target of the attacks, one gap in computer security can leave many nations exposed.'"
The dangers of permissivity (Score:0, Funny)
Over the last ten years, as the laws got stricter in some countries, it's fairly easy to observe the shift of malicious cyberbehavior to others, not unlike pressing down on parts of a balloon and watching the rest expand. It's also interesting to note that the centers of gravity with regard to this type of activity, whether spam, malware, or apparently even spying, appear to coincide with areas that have a lowered regard of copyright and other intellectual property.
I suspect the strongest thing we can do for computer security is to create and approve a framework of laws that engender respect for intellectual property of all stripes, from corporate data, to music, movies, and video games. While many of us are leery of the DMCA, I think we can eventually all agree that a rising tide lifts all boats, and that empowering users to take control over how their information is shared is ultimately a good thing; especially if it creates an environment in which cybercrime can no longer flourish into our computers.
Major discovery (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Ooooh! The Dalai Lama! (Score:0, Funny)
Well considering it's public record the the Dalia Lama has been on the CIA payroll working to start a war between India and China during the 20th century I think it makes sense for China to keep an eye on him.