Cyber Crime and Cyber Warfare Pose Growing Threat

Feb. 20, 2011 - PRLog -- Latest statistics show that online threats are a growing problem for both governments and private businesses, particularly in Western capitalist democracies such as the UK and US where dependence on the Internet is strong and growing.

The Internet has opened up many opportunities for business, governments and individuals, but it has also brought significant new threats to light. Cyber crime poses a threat to anyone who shares their personal and financial information online, while cyber warfare is gaining ground as a military tactic. Despite the increasing threat posed by electronic crime and warfare, many people are unaware of the danger. Experts are calling for increased awareness and action against cyber threats.

A new study produced by the British government has reported that cyber crime in the UK has grown to endemic proportions. Crimes committed over the Internet are now costing the country 43.5 billion dollars or 27 billion pounds a year. Most of these costs are currently falling upon UK businesses, but the UK government also lost about 2.2 billion pounds to cyber crime, and losses to individuals added up to 3.1 billion pounds. Industrial espionage, intellectual property theft and extortion have been the most costly crimes. Cyber crime is widespread and increasingly costly for all kinds of Internet users in the UK.

As well as shining a light on increasing problem of cyber crime in the UK, the report, produced by the Office of Cyber Security and Information Assurance, also cautions that more needs to be done in order to counter this threat. A lack of understanding of the problem has led to a slow and inadequate response to the threat of cyber crime in the country, despite the fact that the National Security Strategy has placed cyber attacks near the top of its list of threats to the UK, where it stands alongside such headline-grabbing threats as war, terrorism and natural disasters. A 650 million pound program for national cyber security has been created to counter the threat of cyber crime, but experts have warned that no coherent strategy has yet been created to tackle online crimes.

The threat of cyber attack also poses a serious threat in the United States. The focus in the US has recently been on cyber warfare, which is expected to become increasingly dangerous in the future as the attacks become more sophisticated. A cyber attack by an enemy has the potential to threaten the economic stability of the US or even to lead to physical destruction and loss of life. The internet has become such an integral part of the country's business and infrastructure that an attack could threaten almost every aspect of the American way of life. The US is just beginning to realise that its online domain requires just as much protection as its land, sea and airspace.

The US Defence Department has taken its first steps towards a new strategy, Cyber 3.0, that could protect the nation from potential cyber attacks in the future. The seriousness of this threat has begun to be made clear to the US government and the country's security agencies. It is essential for the country to act now, while cyber warfare is still in the earliest stages of development in order to manage this threat, which could grow to much more dangerous levels in the near future.

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David Laurent Guffroy is CEO & Founder at Etrading.cc and has created Anti Cybersquatting Creative Network, Anti-Cybersquatting.com, a non-profit organization with the goal of helping companies and citizens in the battle against cybersquatting.