Eugene Kaspersky: Cyberterrorism could become a major global threat
Life of any country depends on cyber systems which are extremely vulnerable to attacks, including terrorist attacks. Eugene Kaspersky, founder and CEO of Kaspersky Lab, had his say in the debate “Future of the global world order and the security”.
“Sometimes it is hard to imagine how much we depend on cyber systems,” he said, “They control everything - from mines to power plants. In fact, they control the whole physical world.” At the same time, many of these systems are simple, said Eugene Kaspersky. This means high level of vulnerability – they can be attacked easily. “There are chances for telecommunications, Internet, mobile communication attacks. Not a single country in the world is safe from cyber strike," he said.
According to the Russian IT entrepreneur, the main peculiarity of cyber attacks is that they can be arranged quite easily and cheaply. “Just a couple engineers, computer specialists and a small budget to design an attack. And you wouldn’t even know who or what is behind it,” he explained.
Referring to Condoleezza Rice’s earlier speech about three global shocks the world that have experienced over the past 10 years, Eugene Kaspersky suggested that cyber terror could become the fourth or fifth global shock. “We must always remember this, and keep it in our minds," he concluded.
The 9th Yalta Annual Meeting entitled “Ukraine and the World: Addressing Tomorrow’s Challenges Together” takes place in Yalta at the Livadia Palace, Ukraine, from 13-16 September 2012. More than 200 leaders from politics, business and society representing more than 20 countries will discuss major global challenges and their impact on Europe, Ukraine and the world.
The President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych and the Prime Minister of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan opened the plenary part of the 9th YES Annual Meeting on September 14. The two leaders discussed critical issues affecting the development of Ukraine and Turkey, as well as the future of a “Wider Europe” in the 21st century. Aleksander Kwasniewski, President of Poland (1995-2005) and Chairman of the Board of YES, moderated the discourse.
The overarching topic of the 9th Yalta Annual Meeting will be the key transformations that are already shaping the future of the world. Forum sessions will focus on the future of the world economy, on a new world order and its security, and on possible models for the development of capitalism. Special attention will be paid to the role of innovation and leadership in transforming the economy and society. Other topics for discussion include the future of the European Union, energy issues and the internal and external challenges facing Ukraine.
This year’s Yalta Annual Meeting will welcome, among others, Robert Zoellick, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Condoleezza Rice, Gordon Brown, Alec Ross, Eric Lander, Kairat Kelimbetov, Carl Bildt, Javier Solana.
At the plenary discussions of the 9th YES Annual Meeting, Ukraine will be represented by the Prime Minister Mykola Azarov; the First Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine Valeriy Khoroshkovsky; Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Social Policy Serhiy Tihipko; Minister of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko; Minister of Energy of Ukraine Yuriy Boyko; Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Kostyantyn Gryshchenko; Secretary of the National Defence and Security Council of Ukraine Andriy Klyuev.
Chrystia Freeland, Global Editor-at-Large at Thomson Reuters will moderate discussions.
The 9th Yalta Annual Meeting is streamed live on korrespondent.net in Ukrainian and on euronews.com and yes-ukraine.org in English.
The official Twitter of the 9th Yalta Annual Meeting: @yes_ukraine
Hash tag: #yalta2012
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