An invisible world war that’s being fought on the internet

ONCE, wars were fought for territory by battalions of soldiers.

Today, the world is facing an invisible, insidious threat – a cyber war which is being waged on an unprecedented scale by shadowy organisations in order to undermine the entire financial system.

According to Simon Richardson, a managing partner at the Leeds-based IT security firm, ITogether, a global agreement is needed to prevent nations attacking their rivals’ computer systems.

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Earlier this year, security experts discovered an unprecedented series of cyber attacks on the networks of 72 global organisations, including the United Nations, governments and corporations, over a five-year period.

Security company McAfee, which uncovered the intrusions, said it believed there was one ‘state actor’ behind the attacks but declined to name it, although several other security experts said the evidence pointed to China.

Mr Richardson said: “A cyberwar is a result of an attack by any device or software payload intended to disrupt, deny, degrade, negate, impair or destroy adversarial computer systems, data, activities or capabilities.

“The US military has recently been subject to such an attack when its military drones became the target of a worm.

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“Foreign powers have also been linked to attacks on the IT security company, RSA.com, with the aim of gaining access to a US-based military weapons contractor.

“Be in no doubt, a war is currently being waged on the internet by numerous groups, from hackers fighting a ‘cause’, to government agencies and private security contractors. What was once an open and peaceful communication medium..has now become a battlefield.”

Mr Richardson said combat by computer wasn’t just about destroying the other side’s equipment until they turn off the internet.

He added: “The UN has said a framework which would look like a peace treaty, is needed to prevent cyber war. Countries should guarantee to protect their citizens and their right to access information, promise not to harbour cyber terrorists and pledge not to attack one another.”

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His concerns were shared by Hugo Wharton, a Leeds-based member of the IT group at law firm Walker Morris, who said companies must have robust systems in place to counter the threat from hackers. He added: “You have to make sure you’re not the low hanging fruit in terms of security.”

ITogether, which was founded five years ago, has experienced “steady organic growth” as demand for network security grows.

ITogether currently has a turnover of £2m and 15 staff. In the next three years, it plans to hit £5m turnover and increase staff numbers to around 30, as it builds on lucrative ties with companies like Cisco.

Jonathan Hirst, who founded ITogether with Mr Richardson in 2005, said: “This rate of growth is never an easy journey, however we have put in place key strategic partnerships that will enable us to take advantage of the opportunities available in the marketplace in order to achieve our goal.”

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Mr Hirst believes employees work harder, and show greater loyalty to employers, during hard economic times. The boom time, caused a “massive imbalance” between employer and employee, he said.

He added: “It was so easy to find another job that some employees were happy to put in the minimum effort and when the going got a bit rough to jump ship and join a competitor. This was never good for the economy. Now the number of vacant roles has reduced, employers are taking a far more rigorous approach to recruitment.”

Hackers ‘getting smarter’

HACKERS are becoming smarter, which means companies must be vigilant to unexpected threats, according to Ian Weatherhogg, chief technical officer of IT firm Refractiv, which is based in Normanton, West Yorkshire.

Refractiv is a member of Techmesh, the IT business support network.

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Mr Weatherhogg said: “When governments, security agencies and hacker organisations take aim at each other in cyber wars on multiple fronts, we hope the casualties will be mostly limited to digital assets and diplomatic red faces. For us civilians, there are smaller day-to-day battles being waged by mercenary hackers directly against us and our businesses.

“Their tactics are increasingly sophisticated, and getting more direct and personal. Governments and ISPs (internet service providers) aren’t protecting us – it’s up to every single one of us to understand how and where we are vulnerable, and the simple measures we need to take to protect ourselves.”