Cyber security, vis-a-vis national security, is high on the agenda of many nations. In fact Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasises the need for robust cyber defences on a regular basis, both within India and abroad.
The keynote address titled “Securing Our Future” at the recently-concluded AVAR 2015 Security Conference held in Da Nang, Vietnam, by Mikko Hypponen made mention of the fact that cyber attacks are very much a part of a nation’s offensive strategy (typically espionage-related).
Even though most malware are written for financial gain, there is still a significant proportion which is created with a different motive in mind, involving both state and non-state actors. We ought to be expecting an increasing global cyber threat from terrorist organisations over and above the use of social media to communicate with their cadres and potential new recruits, and to attempt to deliver propaganda to the world at large.
Within the scope of the Internet of Things (IoT) our homes are being exposed to the outside world to a far greater extent than ever before. IoT, which involves various internet-enabled embedded utility devices (e.g. a smart fridge) that typically contain various security weaknesses, provides a whole new dimension of opportunity to hostile elements who can conduct attacks from thousands of miles away.
The AVAR 2015 conference, at which K7 Computing presented on ransomware, was well attended by several members of the Vietnamese defence and civil government bodies, as well as local journalists, signifying the emphasis that Vietnam places on the cyber security domain. In addition, the conference was formally supported by the Vietnamese Authority of Information Security.
K7 Computing hosted the AVAR conference a couple of years ago and will do so once again, the details of which will be revealed at a later date and time. Watch this space.
Image courtesy of betanews.com.
Samir Mody
Senior Manager, K7TCL
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