'End of the world as we know it': Kaspersky warns of cyber-terror apocalypse

RT.com ^ | June 6, 2012 | Sergey Guneev

[SomeCallMeTim]

After his eponymously-named lab discovered Flame, "the most sophisticated cyber weapon yet unleashed," Eugene Kaspersky believes that the evolving threat of “cyber terrorism” could spell the end of life on Earth as we know it.

­Doomsday scenarios are a common occurrence in 2012, but coming from a steely-eyed realist like Eugene Kaspersky, his calls for a global effort to halt emerging cyber threats should raise alarm bells.

A global Internet blackout and crippling attacks against key infrastructure are among two possible cyber-pandemics he outlined.

"It's not cyber war, it's cyber terrorism, and I'm afraid the game is just beginning. Very soon, many countries around the world will know it beyond a shadow of a doubt,” Kaspersky told reporters at a Tel Aviv University cyber security conference.

“I'm afraid it will be the end of the world as we know it," he warned. "I'm scared, believe me."

[dragnet2]

Absolutely, and agree on the call signs!

No doubt about it.

[SomeCallMeTim]

I am really getting tired of this “Y2K” no big deal. We worked day and night before the roll over to make sure our systems located in hospitals did not crash

Same here... Back then, I actually was working in the process control field in a chemical plant. I was the Y2K Project Coodinator. We worked dilegently for more than a year, spent more than $1MM upgrading systems, and re-writing code to avoid problems that WERE REAL.... before we fixed them.

I spent that entire night and day watching the time zones change... and, we PARTIED heartily, the next day. :-)

[SomeCallMeTim]

Remember Y2K? Seriously, go outside and read a book. the grid can go down today, you will not die immediately. You will be warmer in the summer, colder in the winter.

Read a book, take a walk, communicate with your family. Not a big deal.

Have you ever lived in a hurricane region, where power is out for an extended time? It sucks..

You're right... we didn't all die. But then, we had plenty of food and water being sent in from other areas. What if there ARE no other areas? People today cannot grow their own food. With just-in-time shipping everywhere, food would become scarce very quickly.

I'm not losing any sleep over this.... but, I AM working on a plan. Hopefully, it never happens in my lifetime. But, it COULD also happen this afternoon.

[Salvavida]

I agree with you. But I speak to the hopelessness and overall gloom Kapersky puts forward. If anything, we should be looking up as our redemption draws near. Even cyber terrorism is under the authority of Christ. He is our hope, not any government.

Blessings to your house.

[The Working Man]

A good article, thank you for posting it.

I left the biz several years ago, but what I saw then is really nothing to what is able to be done now via the net. I remember well a demonstration where a remotely monitored oil pipeline pump was sabotaged via a relatively minor change to the code. The result was quite amazing though. Big Boom, real big.

[SomeCallMeTim]

A good article, thank you for posting it.

I'm no computer expert... my friend is. He knew Steve Jobs... worked for Steve Case. But, he was a guy that actually DID coding and built things..

If he says the threat is real, I believe it. Nothwithstanding, Laz's personal guarantee! ;-)

[SomeCallMeTim]

In my 50's, I finally realized that the most important thing is what she'd look (and sound) like when she was angry at me.

LOL... a whole new way to look at the world! Awesome advice.

[ladyjane]

Maceman - at age fifty you still haven’t figured out what pisses off the women in your life?? LOL

[Maceman]

Maceman - at age fifty you still haven’t figured out what pisses off the women in your life?? LOL

It's not about what pisses them off -- that's different for every woman. It's about how they handle being pissed off. For example, imagine you're dating Ann Coulter or Laura Ingraham (or Heaven forfend, Michelle Obama). How much fun do you think it would be to have either one of THEM pissed off at you?

I prefer women who are soft spoken and reasonable, who don't scream or project all their past abuse trauma on me.

My current girlfriend, who I met two years ago, is very good at rationally expressing when she has a problem with something I've done. We've somehow managed to work out whatever issues have arisen with no drama, no arguments, no yelling, no emotional manipulation and no sublimated sulking. It's one of the many reasons I know I will love her forever.

[Mr. K]

I think.. preparing for a failed power grid is probably the way to think about planning.

That was the FIRST thing I was expecting to fail in a SHTF scenario- and I am a computer systems engineer for a living, I know a litle about these things- <> I am woried about is how to store enough gas (safely) to run my generator at least a couple of hours per day (to keep the freezer running, etc

I agree with him 100% on that) for at least a year

[coon2000]

born and raised in New Orleans.

[spetznaz]

Switch to Linux. Problem solved.

Like Stuxnet, Flame attacks Windows operating systems. Considering this reality, Kaspersky was emphatic: "Software that manages industrial systems or transportation or power grids or air traffic must be based on secure operating systems. Forget about Microsoft, Linux or Unix."