Our Vulnerable Internet 2
In a previous blog, I discussed how vulnerable our Internet was to attacks and that there are really no hard and fast solutions to these problems. Plus the fact that there are a good number of times that when you report a vulnerability you get in trouble because your guilt is presumed. This and other reasons make it difficult to ensure that systems are in tip top shape (security-wise). What makes things worst are inherent weaknesses of the Internet that can be exploited such as the Domain Name System (DNS) and the use of Distributed Denial of Serivce (DDOS). These problems affect everybody and do not single out a paricular country or region as vulnerable.
But, in an article by the Inq7.net, it says singles out South East Asia as particularly vulnerable to cyberterrorism:
Developing nations remain especially vulnerable to a cyber assault because they haven’t built up defenses for their computer, banking and utility systems, said Yean Yoke Heng, deputy director general of the Kuala Lumpur-based Southeast Asian Regional Center for Counterterrorism.
However, it does seem that there are inherent weaknesses that makes us all equally vulnerable to cyberattacks. It should also be noted that countries such as the United States and South Korea are the primary sources of zombies used for DDOS attacks. I find it strange that our region is being singled out due to “lack of technical savvy”. Hey, even a major Trend Micro anti-virus facility is located here in Manila. We are even actively pursuing cybercrime with a spanking new law and some very cooperative government cybercrime groups (NBI and PNP). I wonder why we are especially vulnerable? The article also holds the answer, “… US software company Symantec Corp. and Russian antivirus company Kaspersky are expected to be key partners”. Ah yes. It is because these companies say we are especially vulnerable and we need their software and services to be less vulnerable. Eureka!
