Infosecurity, Policy & Planning

Security experts urged to unite to combat cyber crime

By Jianggan Li | 22 April 2009

Art Coviello, President of information security firm RSA, has urged the industry to come together to combat global cyber crime.

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“Our adversaries operate as a true ecosystem that thrives through interdependence and constantly adapts to ensure its growth and survival,” Coviello said in his keynote address at the annual RSA Conference, the largest of its kind.

This year’s event kicked off in San Francisco, United States, on Monday. Coviello also urged the industry not to underestimate the global cyber security threat and the sophistication of criminals.

A few recent reports highlighted the severity of the cyber security threat, with alleged and confirmed targets infiltrated ranging from the Australian Government to the US power grid.

Symantec said its software, widely deployed across different sectors, had blocked on average 245 million attacks per month last year.

Statistics from Sophos, another security software firm, revealed that a web page was infected every 4.5 seconds and more than 20,000 new samples of malware were discovered daily.

RSA’s Coviello suggested three key practices for the industry to work together to mitigate the threat. They included collaborating on standards, sharing technologies and integrating technologies and controls of the infrastructure.

“There’s an African proverb that advises, ‘If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together’,” Coviello added.