
Security guru Bruce Schneier cuts through the hype...
By Tom Espiner
Published: 24 November 2005 08:45 GMT
Security expert Bruce Schneier has warned that talk of cyber terrorism could have a damaging effect on levels of IT security.
Schneier said officials claiming that terrorists pose a serious danger to computer networks are guilty of distracting attention away from the threat we face from criminals.
He said: "I think that the terrorist threat is over-hyped, and the criminal threat is under-hyped."
He added: "I hear people talk about the risks to critical infrastructure (CNI) from cyber terrorism but the risks come primarily from criminals. It's just criminals at the moment aren't as 'sexy' as terrorists."
Schneier was speaking after the SANS Institute released its latest security report at an event in London. During this event, NISCC director Roger Cummings claimed that foreign governments are the primary threat to the UK's CNI.
Cummings claimed: "Foreign states are probing the CNI for information." The UK's CNI is made up of financial institutions; key transport, telecoms and energy networks; and government organisations.
Schneier, though, is concerned that resources are being diverted away from the fight against cyber crime as governments focus on cyber terrorism.
He said: "We should not ignore criminals and I think we're under-spending on crime. If you look at ID theft and extortion - it still goes on. Criminals are after money."
Cummings also claimed that hackers are already being employed by both organised criminals and government bodies, in what he termed the 'malicious marketplace'.
Schneier agrees that this is an issue. He said: "There is definitely a marketplace for vulnerabilities, exploits and old computers. It's a bad development but there are definitely conduits between hackers and criminals."
Tom Espiner writes for ZDNet UK
Offshoring: Met and CBC unite against cyber crime
Hackers should spend more time in prison, say MPs
Is latest can of worms a cyber-crime turf war?
CIO Forum: Bank CIOs on the crime frontline
Nigeria enlists Microsoft to fight 419 scammers
Police and business team up to tackle tech crime
We need UN body to combat cyber crime, says MP
5 years ago... Clinton to give grants to trainee cyber-snoopers
come and talk to us. We're committed to refining our established drinks and developing exciting new ones, creating brands that people love and giving ...
Test Managers are responsible for:*Growing the Trust's capability to undertake formal testing of 3rd party supplied systems*Developing/Designing Test ...
This Process Integration Specialist will be joining an organisation which is trading across a variety of asset classes serving governments, ...
Agenda Setters 2009
Welcome to the ninth annual Agenda Setters poll – silicon.com's list of the top 50 most influential individuals in the technology and IT industries, from techies and CIOs to entrepreneurs and business leaders. Find out more in our latest special report.
Stories from the web...
Copyright © 2008 CBS Interactive Limited. All rights reserved. Top of page
Clive Longbottom Windows 7: Not perfect - but ready for prime time Microsoft's latest OS fixes most of Vista's ills - but still has challenges ahead
Stephen Kleynhans Mind the details with Windows 7 Just because it might work better than Vista, it doesn't mean you can be sloppy