By Martin Banks - 19th November 2009
Today, the weapons are not nuclear, but virtual
Greg Day
An attack this week on the website of the Latvian president highlights the growing danger of 'cyber warfare', it has been claimed.
In the incident on Wednesday, hackers defaced the official website of the country's president Valdis Zatlers. The attack was designed to disrupt the country's national day celebrations.
According to Greg Day, a security analyst, it illustrated the ease with which cyber attacks can now occur.
He said, "Over the past year, the increase in politically motivated cyber attacks has raised alarm and caution, with targets including the White House and the US department of homeland security."
UK-based Day was in Brussels on Thursday to launch a new report which highlights the need for "decisive action" on cyber warfare at EU and international level.
The "virtual criminology" report says that France is the only EU member state with a system in place should it come under cyber attack.
Israel, China, Russia and the US are the only other countries which have well-developed plans for such an eventuality.
"Experts warned of the global cyber arms race more than two years ago and, following incidents such as the one which brought down much of the US power grid, we are now seeing increasing evidence that it has become real.
"Several nations around the world are actively engaged in cyber war-like preparations and attacks. Today, the weapons are not nuclear, but virtual, and everyone must adapt to these threats," says the report.
It concludes that the threat to countries' government services, critical infrastructure and society as a whole is "under-estimated."
"There is no EU-wide defence mechanism and this should give cause for real concern," said Day.
"Given our ever-rising reliance on technology, this really is a matter that the EU should be addressing. The likelihood of a major cyber attack will only get worse."
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