Share

Call in the Russians

The battle against cyber criminals is becoming increasingly important as attacks on personal bank accounts are on the up and the kind of activity being experienced over recent months has potentially serious real-life implications. The Stuxnet virus that targeted software used in equipment at nuclear power plants is one example, along with the hack on Sony’s PlayStation Network that compromised millions of users’ accounts and sent the Japanese company’s stock price plummeting.

I was in Moscow last week for a series of meetings with Kaspersky Lab – a Russian IT security firm and one of the fastest-growing companies in the developing world. Kaspersky is unlike its – chiefly United States – competitors in many ways. Kaspersky’s experts really give you the impression they’re here to help take out the cyber trash, whereas other security companies I’ve spoken to seem more interested in using fear tactics to sell their products.

An example is in Kaspersky Lab’s proven propensity for proactively contacting governments and other institutions and getting involved in solving cyber security issues, even where there’s no revenue opportunity. That does do wonders for the brand, of course.

Kaspersky’s experts gave us a sneak peek of its 2012 version of its security software for PCs that protects against malware – including viruses – plus also protecting Internet users against phishing attacks during which personal information is stolen, especially usernames and passwords for Internet banking and other online services. Kaspersky made special mention of the increase of such attacks using social networking services, including Twitter or Facebook.

The new Kaspersky Internet Security suite also has controls for parents – allowing them to monitor discussions their kids are having on Facebook and even block interaction with specific individuals.

Mobile is another major area of concern and Kaspersky was one of the first security companies to release software specifically for cellular handsets.

Kaspersky CTO Nikolay Grebennikov says some scary things are possible using mobile phones. For example, it’s possible to capture the camera on a phone without its owner knowing and capture images from wherever the phone is. The iPhone is a challenging device for third parties such as Kaspersky to protect due to Apple’s strict controls over iPhone software. However, Kaspersky has released software for Android and other mobile platforms.

Kaspersky Lab’s research into cyber crime in SA raises some interesting points. “We see a lot of Internet domain names used by criminals being registered in SA,” says Bestuzhev, one of Kaspersky Lab’s research heads. He isn’t sure why that is. It might be because South African domains are cheaper to register, or that the registration process better lends itself to batch registrations. Another possibility is no identification is required to register a domain – although that’s true for most countries.

My own theory is you don’t have to pay immediately to register and use a South African .co.za domain. By the time payment is defaulted and the domain scrapped you could have had a website up for a few months and sent millions of emails. But it’s different for .com domains because you have to pay immediately upon registration.

Bestuzhev sent me some Africa-specific findings after our meeting, revealing that SA is far from being Africa’s hotbed of cyber crime. Egypt represents 31% of malware attacks, with Algeria second and Morocco third. SA is fourth on the list with 7%, followed by Kenya at 5%.
We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
18.89
+0.2%
Rand - Pound
23.82
+0.3%
Rand - Euro
20.37
+0.3%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.31
+0.3%
Rand - Yen
0.12
+0.2%
Platinum
908.05
0.0%
Palladium
1,014.94
0.0%
Gold
2,232.75
-0.0%
Silver
24.95
-0.1%
Brent Crude
87.00
+1.8%
Top 40
68,346
0.0%
All Share
74,536
0.0%
Resource 10
57,251
0.0%
Industrial 25
103,936
0.0%
Financial 15
16,502
0.0%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders