Israel is among the world's five most vulnerable countries to cyber warfare against critical systems, says McAfee Inc. (NYSE: MFE) in its Virtual Criminology Report 2009. The four others are the US, Russia, China, and France.
McAfee says, "There have been increasing reports of cyber attacks and network infiltrations that appear to be linked to nation-states and political goals." The worries can prompt threatened nations, like Israel, to prepare defensive and offensive cyber weapons, leading to what the information security giant says can be a "cyber arms race". McAfee says that the private sector is at even greater risk, and that governments should prepare for cyber warfare.
McAfee president and CEO David DeWalt said that McAfee began warning against a global cyber arms race two years ago, and that now there is proof that the cyber front exists, and that several countries are actively engaged in cyber warfare, including offensive systems. The weapons are not nuclear, but virtual, and everyone has to prepare for the reality.
McAfee Israel general manager Zafrir Haklay said, "The fact that Israel is among the countries most at risk to cyber warfare, alongside great powers like the US and China, should attract the attention of the government and public and private agencies in the country. It is necessary to act quickly before it is too late."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on November 19, 2009
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