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McAfee report reveals cyber coldwar, with critical infrastructure under constant cyber attack

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style="font-family: Verdana; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;"> size="2">Mumbai, India: The company today revealed the staggering cost

and impact of cyber attacks on critical infrastructure such as

electrical grids, oil and gas production, href="http://pcquest.ciol.com/content/vertical_focus/2010/110020101.asp"> style="font-family: Verdana; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;"> size="2">telecommunications and transportation networks. A survey of

600 IT security executives from critical infrastructure enterprises

worldwide showed that more than half (54%) have already suffered large

scale attacks or stealthy infiltrations from organised crime gangs,

terrorists or nation-states. The average estimated cost of downtime

associated with a major incident is $6.3 million per day.

style="font-family: Verdana; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;"> size="2">The report � style="font-family: Verdana; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;"> size="2">In the Crossfire: Critical Infrastructure in the Age of

Cyberwar�,
style="font-family: Verdana; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;"> size="2">commissioned by McAfee and authored by the Center for

Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), also found that the risk of

cyberattack is rising. Despite a growing body of legislation and

regulation, style="font-family: Verdana; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;"> size="2">about 64% of the Indian respondents believe that the current

law in their country is inadequate against tackling cyber attackers style="font-family: Verdana; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;"> size="2">. India, Spain and Italy reported lowest security adoption

rates � all under 40%. Worldwide, only 20% think their sector is safe

from serious cyber attack over the next five years.

style="font-family: Verdana; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;"> size="2">McAfee global threat intelligence data suggests that India

has recently replaced China (and Russia and Romania) as the richest

hunting ground for href="http://pcquest.ciol.com/content/enterprise/2009/109120509.asp"> style="font-family: Verdana; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;"> size="2">hackers bent on recruiting infected computers for botnets,

another possible result of the disparity between the two countries'

security adoption rates.

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style="font-family: Verdana; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;"> size="2">Many of the world's critical infrastructures were built for

reliability and availability, not for security. Traditionally, these

organisations have had little to no cyber protection, and have relied

on guards, gates and guns. Today however, computer networks are

interconnected with corporate IT networks and other infrastructure

networks, which are accessible from anywhere in the world.

style="font-family: Verdana; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;"> size="2">�In today's economic climate, it is imperative that

organizations prepare for the instability that cyber attacks on

critical infrastructure can cause,� said Dave DeWalt, president and

chief executive officer of McAfee. �From public transportation, to

energy to telecommunications, these are the systems we depend on every

day. An attack on any of these industries could cause widespread

economic disruptions, environmental disasters, loss of property and

even loss of life.

style="font-family: Verdana; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;"> size="2">�The recently identified Operation Aurora was the largest and

most sophisticated cyber attack targeted at specific corporations, but

it could have just as easily targeted the world's critical

infrastructure,� continued DeWalt. �The attack announced by Google and

identified by McAfee was the most sophisticated threat seen in years

making it a watershed moment in cyber security because of the targeted

and coordinated nature of the attack.�

style="font-family: Verdana; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;"> size="2">The McAfee 'In the Crossfire: Critical Infrastructure in the

Age of Cyberwar' report is available for download at href="http://www.mcafee.com/"> style="font-family: Verdana; font-weight: normal;">www.mcafee.com style="font-family: Verdana; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;"> size="2">. To learn more about the research findings and opinions,

please visit the McAfee Security Insights blog style="font-family: Verdana; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;"> size="2">siblog.mcafee.com.



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