[ISN] The one ring to rule them all

http://www.smh.com.au/business/world-business/the-one-ring-to-rule-them-all-20111121-1nqx1.html

By Angus Batey
smh.com.au
November 22, 2011

DAVID Vincenzetti isn't your typical arms dealer. He's never sold a 
machinegun, a grenade or a surface-to-air missile. But, make no mistake, 
he has access to a weapon so powerful it could bring a country to its 
knees. It's called RCS - Remote Control System - and it's a piece of 
computer software.

Developed by Vincenzetti and a team of former computer hackers, RCS is 
able to ''invade'' a digital device undetected, bypass the most 
sophisticated electronic defences so far devised and, if the user so 
desired, disrupt the running of anything from a railway signalling 
system to a nuclear power station.

Vincenzetti, it should be made clear, is a law-abiding businessman. The 
company he set up, Hacking Team, based in Milan, markets RCS as an 
''investigative tool'' for law enforcement and security agencies engaged 
in counterterrorism and counter-espionage against ''high-value'' 
individuals.

The licences, which cost €200,000 ($A270,000) a year, are never sold to 
states that are under European Union or United Nations arms embargoes or 
to private companies or individuals. But the very fact that RCS exists 
shows what a team of computer whiz-kids can achieve and the damage they 
could do if they worked for an enemy of the West.

[...]


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