Cyber terrorism is the next big threat, say experts

Cyber terrorism is the new face of terror that can take a toll on critical national infrastructure as this is a soft target, said international security specialist Michael Kemp on Tuesday while speaking at a programme on Cyber Safety Awareness Week (October 10 to 15), in the city.

The event was organised by Pune city police’s cyber cell along with Data Security Council India (DSCI) and National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) for police officers at the commissionerate.

More then 50 IT experts and critical infrastructure heads, defence officials and senior police officers were present.
A security consultant from the UK, Kemp has specialised in penetration testing of web application. He spoke on ‘Attack on critical infrastructures and security measures’.

Another talk was given by security expert Fyodor Yarochkin, a security analyst and software architect of Armorize Technologies, who spoke on ‘Organised cyber crime and international cyber terrorism’.

Kemp said that future wars won’t be fought on geographical territories, but in the intellectual terrain. There are eight critical infrastructures, whose services are so vital that their incapacity and destruction would have a debilitating impact on the defence as well as economic security.

These infrastructures rely on computer networks including public Internet, for their continued operation and daily management. These soft targets included electrical power, gas and oil production, storage, telecommunications, banking and finance, water supply systems, transportation, emergency services and government operation, all of which need to be safeguarded.

Yarochkin elaborated on the cyber crime groups and said there is a huge market for sharing of data that is related to credit card information, land or other things.