Misquote: Internet meltdown predicted tomorrow

From: Russ (Russ.Cooper_at_RC.ON.CA)
Date: 08/25/04

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    Date:         Wed, 25 Aug 2004 10:48:03 -0400
To: NTBUGTRAQ@LISTSERV.NTBUGTRAQ.COM

    We've been monitoring a variety of media outlets all discussing news
    about a predicted meltdown occurring tomorrow. This came out from
    Kaspersky labs this morning (who were cited as part of the source.)

    -----Original Message-----
    From: news@kaspersky.com [mailto:news@kaspersky.com]
    Sent: Wednesday, August 25, 2004 10:29 AM
    To: news@kaspersky.com
    Subject: VirusList.com Virus Alerts & Virus News: 25th August 2004: Who
    knows what tomorrow will bring?

    VirusList.com Virus Alerts & Virus News. Wednesday, August 25, 2004
    ******************************************************************

    1. 25th August 2004: Who knows what tomorrow will bring?
    2. How to subscribe/unsubscribe
    3. Security Rules

    ****

    1. 25th August 2004: Who knows what tomorrow will bring?

    A handful of sites are stating that Eugene Kaspersky, founder of
    Kaspersky Labs, believes that tomorrow will bring a massive terrorist
    attack on the Internet. This is being quoted in a range of ways, ranging
    from factual reporting to citing the story as an example of cyber
    hysteria.

    However, Kaspersky is not predicting the end of the Internet tomorrow -
    or even in the near future. The story stems from brief comments made
    yesterday at a press conference which was dedicated to cybercrime and
    the problems of spam.

    At this press conference, Kaspersky commented that the possibility of
    terrorists using the Internet as a tool to attack certain countries was
    a reality. As an example, he cited the fact that a number of Arabic and
    Hebrew language websites contained an announcement of an 'electronic
    jihad' against Israel, to start on 26th August 2004.

    In an interview today, Kaspersky stressed that such information was not
    necessarily trustworthy. 'We don't know who is behind these statements.'
    He went on to clarify: 'It's not the first time the term 'electronic
    jihad' has been used. We've seen this before, with the focus being on
    sending racist emails, and defacing and hacking Israeli web sites. But
    it is the first time I have seen sites encouraging the use of Internet
    attacks against one country as a form of terrorism.'

    'As we've already stated many times in the past, it would be easy enough
    to use a network of infected computers to launch such an attack. We saw
    the impact that Sasser, Mydoom and Slammer had, on the Internet,
    businesses and organisations. Just imagine if such an attack was
    directed at one country or one critical point in the infrastructure of
    the Internet. Computers are a tool - and just like any tool, they can be
    used or misused.'

    Kaspersky emphasised that the likelihood of a massive attack directed
    against Israeli institutions tomorrow is low. However, he believes that
    Pandora's box has now been opened. Hackers and virus writers can be
    motivated by a range of factors: money, curiosity, or political
    conviction. But whatever their motivation, the insecure nature of the
    Internet and weak security precautions offer a wealth of opportunities.
    'Maybe it won't be tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow - but sooner or
    later, terrorists will be using the Internet as another weapon in their
    arsenal.'

    **

    2. How to subscribe/unsubscribe

    If you would like to subscribe to other news blocks or to unsubscribe
    from this news block, you can do so by visiting
    http://www.viruslist.com/eng/maillist.html

    If you experience any problems with this procedure, please contact us
    at: webmaster@kaspersky.com

    3. Security Rules

    To avert unsanctioned attempts to distribute "false" or "forged" email
    news messages under the guise of Kaspersky Labs please note that actual
    Kaspersky Labs news messages are sent only in plain text format and
    never under any circumstances include file attachments. If you receive
    an email not meeting these strict guidelines, please under no
    circumstances open it but rather forward it to Kaspersky Labs technical
    support (support@kaspersky.com) so its contents can be examined.

    ****

    Kaspersky Lab News Agent

    -----
    10 Geroyev Panfilovtcev St., Moscow, 123363, Russia
    Telephone./Facsimile: +7 (095) 797 87 00
    WWW: http://www.kaspersky.com, http://www.viruslist.com
    FTP: ftp://ftp.kasperskylab.ru
    E-mail: info@avp.ru

    -----
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