Free Republic

WASHINGTON, Oct. 9 (UPI) -- Viruses, worms, identity theft, extortion and other forms of criminal activity are not the only illicit uses of the Internet. "Malware" -- malicious software designed to exploit weaknesses in programs and the computers on which they run -- has now spawned the capability to digitally "soften up the battlefield." The cyberattack has become a major weapon of psychological operations and information warfare in both hot and cold wars. It also will grow as a weapon of choice for transnational terrorists because it provides a relatively inexpensive means to disrupt global communications covertly and, in some...

If money is the root of all evil, then hackers are evil incarnate. According to a security intelligence firm, more than half the cyber-attacks conducted in 2004 were carried out by criminals interested in only one thing: money. iDefense, a Reston, Va.-based supplier of security intelligence to both corporations and government agencies, delved into its private database of more than 100,000 malicious code attacks to publish analytical findings publicly for the first time, said Ken Dunham, the company's director of research. Using that database, iDefense tallied a record 27,260 attacks in 2004. Over 15,000 of those, or some 55 percent,...