Malware propagated by profit-oriented cyber criminals still account for the lion’s share of security threats to businesses but lately state-sponsored attackers have been zeroing in on large enterprises, according to security software maker Kaspersky Labs.
Malware such as Stuxnet, Flame and Gauss are just some of the threats that have been associated with state-sponsored attacks. State-back cyber-espionage operations are often better funded compared to their private sector counterparts and enjoy government protection.
Canada spared by Red October spy ring?
Black Hat: Cyber-espionage is expanding
Canada’s cyber-security is falling short
“We are now discovering malware that has been active for as long as 10 years,” Raiu was quoted in a recent Computerworld.com report. “No anti-virus company has figured out how Flame work”
“There are so many codes, so many subroutines, so much obfuscation and encryption that you need a lot of super high-talented people…to understand it,” he said.
A day, after Raiu made his pronouncement, the New York Times reported that its computers had been infiltrated by China-based hackers using techniques developed by the Chinese military.
Much earlier, the American oil company Chevron reported that its systems were attacked by the Stuxnet virus