Cyber warriors face online battles

By Glenn Chapman - US national security leaders and top cyber warriors from around the world are gathering here to plot defences against criminals and spies that increasingly plague the Internet. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and White House Cyber Security Coordinator Howard Schmidt will take part in this week's RSA conference along with computer defence companies and technology icons such as Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and Craigslist creator Craig Newmark.

"We have before us more data moving into the cloud and more sophisticated cyber criminals," said Qualys chief executive Philippe Courtot, who is among the keynote speakers at the premier event that kicks off today. "We need corporations, government and community working closer together." Social networking and applications being hosted as services in the Internet "cloud" are among hot Internet trends presenting opportunities for hackers and challenges for those guarding networks.

Gone are the days when protecting computers meant building virtual fortress walls to keep attackers out and then hunting down software viruses by simply matching codes to lists of known offenders. Conference topics will include finding ways to let workers visit online social networking sites or let employees or partners access business networks safely from distant spots without opening computers to infections.

Legitimate websites must remain vigilant against being booby-trapped by hackers. Computer defences have broadened to include automated systems on constant watch for suspicious behaviour, such as online bank account log-in information being entered faster than humanly possible. Cyber crooks use programs that enter data quicker than fingers can type. Organised crime and espionage themes promise to dominate at RSA, in part thanks to a slick online assault on Google and the recent discovery of some 75,000 computers worldwide woven into a "Kneber botnet" by malicious code.

"Malware has become important as the sophistication of the attacks has increased," said Courtot, whose company was founded in France in 1999 and later moved to California. "That is underscored by the Google Aurora attack. Now we know for a fact more than a hundred companies were compromised in very targeted attacks of industrial espionage," Courtot said.