http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/tech/200305/kt2003052518225511790.htm By Kim Deok-hyun Staff Reporter kdhat_private 05-25-2003 Anyone who thinks the Internet is just a convenient tool for the coming information society, should take another look at its side effects. Despite growing concerns about online security, computer networks remain more vulnerable than ever to cyber attacks, Internet worms and unforeseen security breaches. ``As a result of increasing interconnectivity and communication networks, the Internet is now exposed to a number of various threats and vulnerabilities,'' Moon Kyung-il, country manager of Network Associates' Korean unit, said. Simply put, in a race between security measures and potential vulnerabilities, the latter gain an upper hand since no perfect solutions exist, he said. ``We're not improving fast enough to keep pace with foreseeable security problems in cyberspace, but new and changing threats will be continuously emerging,'' he said. Ironically, because of its highly wired broadband Internet infrastructure, South Korea is rapidly emerging as one of the targets of international cyber attacks. According to the National Police Agency, from August 2001 to March 2002, the country received a total of 4,376 reports on security breaches and hacker attacks in computer servers, accounting for 39 percent of worldwide online attacks. The U.S., China and Taiwan ranked second, third and fourth, respectively. Early this year, the country's Internet networks were severely hit by a new class of worm. Unlike computer viruses, worms do not need human intervention to be spread. The unprecedented Internet attack hit the U.S. first and Canada and spread quickly, hitting Korea especially hard. Korea was in a pandemonium, with almost all Korean Internet users experiencing difficulties in gaining access to the Internet for almost half the day. The ``Slammer'' worm sent huge volumes of data randomly, exploiting a well-known vulnerability of Microsoft's SQL server software. The huge traffic caused disruption in information networking of Internet service providers, paralyzing online shopping malls and Internet banking services. Korean civic groups, including the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, and Internet service providers filed a lawsuit against Microsoft's Korean unit to seek compensation from the damage. ``At that time, actual damage was relatively limited because the worm attacked only servers,'' Moon said. ``If the worm attacks personal computers, we won't be able to calculate the scope of damages.'' He pointed out the importance of periodical maintenances of computer system such as frequent updating of anti-virus programs and checking out potential security breaches at homes and workplaces. ``Individuals should incorporate security as an essential part of computer systems and networks,'' he said. ``With computer networks becoming increasingly wired, security breaches and online attack risks will always be there in our everyday life.'' Computer security experts said an information society without online security would face a distinct threat because the Internet has become indispensable to national security and economic well-being. An unsolicited e-mail advertising or ``spam'' has also posed a threat to the coming information society. According to the Korea Information Security Agency, a government-affiliated Internet security research group, unwanted e-mails are estimated to cost 2.6 trillion won a year in both tangible and intangible damages. The study found that the amount of spam e-mails jumped at a blistering pace. As of the end of 2002, an individual got an average of 34.8 junk e-mails a day, most of them designed to lure recipients to pornographic Web sites. In 2001, only 4.7 unwanted messages were delivered every day. The flood of e-mail advertisings also means Internet service providers have to bear the cost of extra hardware and filtering software, not to mention unhappy e-mail users. In addition, outbound spam e-mails from Korea have been a source of a string of complaints from abroad. ``Every day I get 20 or more e-mails in Korean although I can't read Korean,'' Joel Rubin, a U.S. resident, said in an e-mail message. ``Frequently, the e-mail has a phone number with no country code,'' he said. ``Since incoming spam costs 10 percent of the monthly Internet service provider fee, I regard this as theft by laziness.'' To halt the relentless spam e-mails, the government has pledged to employ tougher measures, but it isn't easy to cut down junk e-mails with online marketers getting smarter and computer networks getting more complex, experts said. On May 22, the Ministry of Information and Communication announced it would form a country-wide organization, including the government and the law enforcement authorities, civic groups, Internet service providers and e-mail service operators, to fight a joint war against spam e-mails. Currently, Korean online marketers are required to register their Internet addresses when they send unwanted commercial e-mails to allow recipients to send complaints not to send those messages again. In a recent study titled ``Internet Security Concerns in Asia-Pacific,'' Internet Data Corp. (IDC), a technology consultancy, said 60 percent of enterprises surveyed felt their greatest security threat is a virus attack, while 22 percent perceived hacker attacks as the overriding threat. The study found that 72 percent of the enterprises reported they had experienced an Internet security breach, and 39 percent felt the degree of security threats has increased over the past year. About 26 percent said that increasing Internet use pushes up their spending on Internet security, while 7.1 percent cited e-commerce initiatives as the key factor, the study said. Nathan Midler, IDC's senior analyst, said 97 percent of all enterprises surveyed had some form of Internet security in place, but security solutions were more focused on off-the-shelf anti-virus products and less on robust, high-end solutions. ``The perception that security threats are increasing, coupled with further integration of e-businesses at workplaces, is driving companies to look beyond a mere anti-virus software toward more advanced solutions, such as disaster recovery services and encryption,'' Midler said in a statement. - ISN is currently hosted by Attrition.org To unsubscribe email majordomoat_private with 'unsubscribe isn' in the BODY of the mail.
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