AusCERT 2011: Eugene Kaspersky calls for Internet Interpol
- 17 May, 2011 13:30
- Comments
Kaspersky Labs founder, Eugene Kaspersky.
With cybercrime now the second largest criminal activity in the world, measures such as the creation of an 'Internet Interpol' and better cooperation between international law enforcement agencies are needed if criminals are to be curtailed in the future, Kaspersky Labs founder and security expert, Eugene Kaspersky, has argued.
Speaking at AusCERT 2011, the Moscow-based Kaspersky said the last five years had proved to be the "Golden Age" of cyber crime with the criminal activity now ranked second only to drug trafficking as the most significant criminal activity.
“Cybercrime is integrated into the computer world," he said. "It’s like if you are in Australia, sharks are intergrated into the beautiful ocean."
Along with its growing size cybercrime was proving difficult to fight due to a combination of its secretive nature and underground forums along with a lack of cooperation between international anti-cybercriminal police forces.
“Some cybercriminals from non English-speaking countries don’t release malware in their own country because they don’t want police to connect them to it," Kaspersky said.
A solution to the problem might be that, in addition to having police agencies investigate cybercrime, an Internet Interpol (international police) could be established.
“We were talking about that 10 years ago and almost nothing has happened," he said. "Sooner or later we will have one. I am also talking about Internet passports and having an online ID. Some countries are introducing this idea, so maybe in 15 years we will all have it.”
The idea of a single secure cyberspace has been discussed in Europe. In February 2011, at a secret meeting of the Council of the European Union's Law Enforcement Work Party (LEWP), politicians discussed plans to create a "virtual Schengen border" (the Schengen area is the common passport area within the E.U.) with ISPs required to block "illicit content" from outside the area.
An online identification could also help stop criminals engaging in identity theft through searching online for scanned passport documents, Kaspersky said.
And while the outgoing Russian described himself as an “optimistic paranoid” when it came to online security, a number of Cloud securtiy offerings had managed to create inroads into tackling malware.
“The lifetime of new malware is very short because it is distributed but it is intercepted by Cloud security,” he said. “Unfortunately, they can’t stop it all but it is much more complicated to develop this type of [Cloud bypassing] malware.”
Kaspersky's comments about law enforcement and cybercrime echoed those of Queensland Police Service officer, Brian Hay, who also spoke at AusCERT.
Hay said cybercrime was the biggest challenge that the policing community was facing because of its position in relation to the sector.
Hamish Barwick travelled to AusCERT 2011 as a guest of AusCERT
Got a security tip-off? Contact Hamish Barwick at hamish_barwick at idg.com.au
Follow Hamish Barwick on Twitter: @HamishBarwick
Follow Computerworld Australia on Twitter: @ComputerworldAU
Join the CIO Australia group on LinkedIn. The group is open to CIOs, IT Directors, COOs, CTOs and senior IT managers.
- Bookmark this page
- Share this article
- Got more on this story? Email CIO
- Follow CIO on twitter
-
Why change management doesn’t work
-
Larry Page wants to see your medical records
-
Dual-Persona Smartphones Not a BYOD Panacea
-
After two-year hiatus, EFF accepts bitcoin donations again
-
CIOs struggle to deliver timely mobile business apps: survey
-
Staying Ahead of the Data Explosion
The total volume of data being processed and stored by businesses is rising exponentially. IDC has estimated that the size of the "digital universe" will increase 29 fold between 2010 and 2020. Data storage technology has undergone a steady increase in capacity, along with a steady decline in the cost per unit to store information. Unfortunately, data storage capacity is not keeping pace with data growth and necessitating greater intelligence in the storage infrastructure. Read more. -
The SPARC Difference - Reduce Risks, Cut Costs, Power Innovation
Despite current economic factors, IT investment continues to be fueled by the need for better and more agile IT capabilities to support an enterprise’s business strategy, as well as to keep up with the rapidly changing demands of the ‘always-on’ user. However, budgets are squeezed and executives are under pressure to reduce capital expenditure and streamline administrative costs. A key strategy is to consolidate and refresh existing IT infrastructures. Download now to find out what technology can add value and enable you to change the shape of your IT budget and, to transform IT into a force for change and innovation. -
Vodafone Ireland Implements World-Class Service Excellence with HP BSM
Shane Gaffney, head of IT operations explain how HP Business Service Manager solutions have helped Vodafone to transform from a reactive to a proactive IT Operations function, and to align their priorities to match the business and drive business value, delivering 300% ROI in one year. Download today.
Get exclusive access to Invitation only events CIO, reports & analysis. 
