The Future of the Global Internet Economy
London, UK - 7 July 2007, 9:27 GMT - The Internet is increasingly
critical to our economies and societies -- with far reaching implications
for all policy domains. Only now is the world beginning to grasp the Internet's
potential as a powerful driver of innovation, sustainable economic growth
and social well-being. It is timely for leaders in governments, corporates,
NGOs and technology experts to forge broad understanding and principles
that will guide the next decade of the Internet economy.
[CONTINUES]
[ATCA Membership]
We look forward to your further thoughts, observations and views. Thank
you.
Best wishes
For and on behalf of DK Matai, Chairman, Asymmetric Threats Contingency
Alliance (ATCA)
ATCA: The Asymmetric Threats Contingency
Alliance is a philanthropic expert initiative founded in 2001
to resolve complex global challenges through collective Socratic
dialogue and joint executive action to build a wisdom based global
economy. Adhering to the doctrine of non-violence, ATCA addresses
asymmetric threats and social opportunities arising from climate
chaos and the environment; radical poverty and microfinance; geo-politics
and energy; organised crime & extremism; advanced technologies
-- bio, info, nano, robo & AI; demographic skews and resource
shortages; pandemics; financial systems and systemic risk; as
well as transhumanism and ethics. Present membership of ATCA is
by invitation only and has over 5,000 distinguished members from
over 100 countries: including several from the House of Lords,
House of Commons, EU Parliament, US Congress & Senate, G10's
Senior Government officials and over 1,500 CEOs from financial
institutions, scientific corporates and voluntary organisations
as well as over 750 Professors from academic centres of excellence
worldwide.
The views presented by individual contributors are not necessarily
representative of the views of ATCA, which is neutral. Please
do not forward or use the material circulated without permission
and full attribution.
Intelligence Unit | mi2g | tel +44 (0) 20 7712 1782 fax +44
(0) 20 7712 1501 | internet www.mi2g.net
mi2g: Winner of the Queen's Award for Enterprise in the category
of Innovation
Low Probability High Impact and
Black Swan Events
London, UK - 12 June 2007, 14:22 GMT
Dear ATCA Colleagues
[Please note that the views presented by individual contributors
are not necessarily representative of the views of ATCA, which is neutral.
ATCA conducts collective Socratic dialogue on global opportunities and
threats.]
Considerations for Future Scenarios -- The Opportunity and Risk
of Asymmetric Globalisation
We are all being hurled closer to each other as the world integrates
faster than ever before. The propensity for fast global integration
creates both huge opportunities and its inevitable flip-side, huge risks.
In the future, we should be concerned about Low Probability High Impact
and Black Swan events which can change the present trajectory of nation
states and large economic entities, many with turnovers in excess of
the GDP of most nations. Welcome to Asymmetric Globalisation in which
friends and adversaries are no longer similar looking as they react
to on- and off-the-radar forces giving rise to Low Probability High
Impact and Black Swan Events. This also means that more risk is increasingly
transferred into the markets away from Sovereign states, increasing
their volatility.
[CONTINUES]
[ATCA Membership]
As a special consideration, please note that some Low Probability High
Impact and Black Swan events may actually become High Probability High
Impact Events as time goes by owing to the five drivers converging and
colliding.
The ATCA think-piece, based on major research, was put together by DK
Matai and the mi2g Intelligence Unit. ATCA reviewers of the article
include: Aileen Armour-Biggs, Douglas Byblow, Professor Nigel M de S
Cameron, Hervé de Carmoy, Fred Cohen, Jean-Yves Gresser, Hamid
Hakimzadeh, Gerald Harris, Rear Admiral John Hilton, Chris Histed, Alexander
Hoare, Prof Sai-Felicia Krishna-Hensel, Prof Jean-Pierre Lehmann, Andrew
Leung, George Littlejohn, Thierry Malleret, Dr Harald Malmgren, Nicholas
Mellor, Miguel Mendonca, Prof Jim Norton, John Petersen, John Pickering,
Richard Thomas Gerber, Commodore Patrick Tyrrell, Michael Wade, Sir
Harold Walker, Ian Walker and Martin Wolf.
[ENDS]
We look forward to your further thoughts, observations and views. Thank
you.
Best wishes
For and on behalf of DK Matai, Chairman, Asymmetric Threats Contingency
Alliance (ATCA)
ATCA: The Asymmetric Threats Contingency
Alliance is a philanthropic expert initiative founded in 2001
to resolve complex global challenges through collective Socratic
dialogue and joint executive action to build a wisdom based global
economy. Adhering to the doctrine of non-violence, ATCA addresses
asymmetric threats and social opportunities arising from climate
chaos and the environment; radical poverty and microfinance; geo-politics
and energy; organised crime & extremism; advanced technologies
-- bio, info, nano, robo & AI; demographic skews and resource
shortages; pandemics; financial systems and systemic risk; as
well as transhumanism and ethics. Present membership of ATCA is
by invitation only and has over 5,000 distinguished members from
over 100 countries: including several from the House of Lords,
House of Commons, EU Parliament, US Congress & Senate, G10's
Senior Government officials and over 1,500 CEOs from financial
institutions, scientific corporates and voluntary organisations
as well as over 750 Professors from academic centres of excellence
worldwide.
The views presented by individual contributors are not necessarily
representative of the views of ATCA, which is neutral. Please
do not forward or use the material circulated without permission
and full attribution.
Intelligence Unit | mi2g | tel +44 (0) 20 7712 1782 fax +44
(0) 20 7712 1501 | internet www.mi2g.net
mi2g: Winner of the Queen's Award for Enterprise in the category
of Innovation
Deep study: The world's safest computing environment
London, UK - 2 November 2004, 02:30 GMT - The most comprehensive study
ever undertaken by the mi2g Intelligence Unit over 12 months reveals
that the world's safest and most secure 24/7 online computing environment
- operating system plus applications - is proving to be the Open Source platform
of BSD (Berkley Software Distribution) and the Mac OS X based on Darwin. This
is good news for Apple Computers(AAPL) whose shares have outperformed the
benchmark NASDAQ, S&P and Dow indices as well as Microsoft (MSFT) by over
100% in the last six months on the back of revived sales and profits. The
last twelve months have witnessed the deadliest annual period in terms of
malware - virus, worm and trojan - proliferation targeting Windows based machines
in which over 200 countries and tens of millions of computers worldwide have
been infected month-in month-out.
[CONTINUES]
Full details of the October 2004 report are available as of 1st November
2004 and can be ordered from here.
(To view contents sample please click here).
If you are already a member
of the Inner Sanctum you should have been emailed a full copy. To retrieve
the original article please fill out the order
form.
Related Articles:
17th November 2004 - Full compendium
of mi2g speeches released on web
12th November 2004 - Exclusive interview of DK Matai
with Linux/Security Pipeline
12th November 2004 - Deep study: The ongoing Linux Attacks
fallout
6th November 2004 - Experts challenge mi2g security
study: mi2g response
5th November 2004 - The relativistic approach to safety
- uptime versus market share
24th March 2004 - Five solutions to the rising identity
theft and malware problem
2nd March 2004 - Disturbing the sanctity of the Linux
Church
19th February 2004 - The World's safest Operating
System
Coverage:
Information
Security News: mi2g defends its Linux claims - Insecure.org
mi2g
defends its Linux claims - Virus.org
mi2g defends
its Linux claims - The Inquirer
Interviews:
DK Matai with Linux/Security Pipeline - Linuxtimes.net
Exclusive
interview of DK Matai with Linux/Security Pipeline - LinuxSecurity.com
Exclusive
interview of DK Matai with Linux/Security Pipeline - eBCVG IT Security
Apple's
Mac OS X is much more secure than Linux or Windows - MacDailyNews
Furore
over OS security survey - ITWeb
Sloppy
Sysadmins Leave Linux Security Lacking - InternetWeek.com
Sloppy
Sysadmins Leave Linux Security Lacking - CRN
Sloppy
Admins Leave Linux Vulnerable To Security Breaches - Information Week
Linux
is 'most breached' OS on the Net, security research firm says - ARNnet
Linux
is 'most breached' OS on the Net, security research firm says - LinuxWorld
Linux
is 'most breached' OS on the Net, security research firm says - ComputerWorld
Security
company defends Linux-is-vulnerable survey - HNS
The
world’s safest computing environment - TechCentral
mi2g response:
Experts challenge mi2g security study - eBCVG IT Security
PC
Pro: Security Company Defends Linux-is-Vulnerable Survey - linux today
Study:
Linux Is Least Secure OS - WindowsITPro
Linux
Most Breached OS, Says New Report - CXO Today
Survey:
Mac OS X most secure, Linux least - ITWeb
Mac
OS X, BSD Unix top security survey - Neowin.net
Mac
OS X, BSD Unix top security survey - Computer World
Study:
OS X World's Safest OS From Security Attacks - MacNewsWorld
Study
Recommends Mac OS X as Safest OS - Slashdot
Mac
OS X, BSD Unix top security survey - MacCentral
Security:
Mac OS X Good, Linux Bad - eBCVG IT Security
Study:
Apple's Mac OS X 'world's safest and most secure' operating system - MacDailyNews
Study:
OS X World's Safest OS From Security Attacks - the Mac Observer
The world's
safest computing environment - eBCVG IT Security
Mac
OS X - 'world's safest' - Macworld Daily News
The
world's safest computing environment - TechCentral
mi2g is at the leading edge of building secure on-line banking, broking
and trading architectures. The principal applications of our technology are:
1.
D2-Banking;
2.
Digital Risk Management; and
3.
Bespoke Security Architecture.
mi2g pioneers enterprise-wide security practices and technology to save
time and cut cost. We enhance comparative advantage within financial services
and government agencies. Our real time intelligence is deployed worldwide for
contingency capability, executive decision making and strategic threat assessment.
mi2g Research Methodology: The Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) List
is available from
here in pdf. Please
note
terms and conditions of use listed on
www.mi2g.net
Full details of the October 2004 report are available as of 1st November
2004 and can be ordered from here.
(To view contents sample please click here).
Probability of a catastrophic malware attack rises
from 2.5% to 30%
London, UK - 2 June 2004, 11:30 GMT - May was the fifth worst month
on record in terms of malware proliferation - virus, worm and trojan attacks
- and is estimated to have caused between $16.2bn and $19.8bn of economic
damage worldwide, largely because of the Sasser outbreak and other associated
variants according to the mi2g Intelligence Unit, the world leader
in digital risk. The probability of a catastrophic malware attack, defined
as global damages in excess of $100bn from a chain of combined events, has
risen from 1 in 40 (2.5%) for 2003 to about 3 in 10 (30%) for 2004.
The May figures for manual and semi-automated hacking attacks - 18,847 - against
online servers worldwide show signs of stabilisation in comparison to each
of the three previous months. At present rates, the projected number of overt
digital attacks carried out by hackers against online servers in 2004 will
be only 2% up on the previous year and would stand at around 220,000. If this
trend continues, it will mark the slowest growth rate for manual and semi-automated
hacking attacks against online servers according to records that date back
to 1995. This confirms that the dominant threat to the global digital eco-system
is coming from malware as opposed to direct hacking attacks.
[CONTINUES]
Full details of the May 2004 report are available as of 1st June 2004 and
can be ordered from here.
(To view contents sample please click here).
If you are already a member
of the Inner Sanctum you should have been emailed a full copy. To retrieve
the original article please fill out the order
form.
Start of April marks record-breaking Quarter for Digital
Risk
London, UK - 1 April 2004, 14:30 GMT - The first quarter of 2004 has
broken some key records to become the most economically damaging quarter for
digital risk manifestation, according to the March report published by the
mi2g Intelligence Unit, the world leader in digital risk. The mi2g
SIPS digital risk database is the world's largest and has been collecting
data since 1995.
Q1 2004 also heralds the first time that commercial websites have been successfully
targeted through malware-orchestrated Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS)
attacks, achieved through armies of million-plus infected zombie computers
running Windows - mostly home and small business computers. Both The SCO Group
and The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) have suffered online
disruptions for weeks, whilst Microsoft has largely resisted MyDoom based
DDoS attacks. Parallel incidents have involved individual hackers or organised
criminal groups targeting gambling and online betting sites as part of elaborate
extortion schemes.
[CONTINUES]
Full details of the March 2004 report are available as of 1st April 2004
and can be ordered from here.
(To view contents sample please click here).
If you are already a member
of the Inner Sanctum you should have been emailed a full copy. To retrieve
the original article please fill out the order
form.
Big Three malware cause heavy productivity losses in
Q1 2004
Poor business processes and auditing holes exacerbate damage
London, UK - 16 March 2004, 15:00 GMT - The Big Three malware families
of 2004, ie, all variants of Bagle, MyDoom and NetSky combined, have caused
the loss or misallocation of 72 million Equivalent Person Days (EPDs) worldwide
over the last two months across corporations, government organisations and
homes according to the mi2g intelligence Unit, the world leader in digital
risk. As an average for the last 60 days, the daily sustained loss is 1.2
million EPDs worldwide, the highest ever.
[CONTINUES]
Full details of the February 2004 report are available as of 1st March 2004
and can be ordered from here.
(To view contents sample please click here).
If you are already a member
of the Inner Sanctum you should have been emailed a full copy. To retrieve
the original article please fill out the order
form.
Decompression bombs materialise on the web as new threat
looms
London, UK - 10 March 2004, 12:45 GMT - Decompression bombs are starting
to make the rounds in cyberspace and pose a rising digital risk. Decompression
bombs are specially crafted files designed to be decompressed into much larger
files with bogus content that consume the available space, effectively using
up all the disk space on the machine running the anti-virus scans. Data compression
often works by coding repeat units of data - for example a string like "aaaaaaaaaa"
could be represented as "a10". The vulnerability of this process
is that an attacker could send a file containing "a1000000000...",
which could result in a massive denial of service if any attempt is made to
put it through a decompression engine.
[CONTINUES]
Full details of the February 2004 report are available as of 1st March 2004
and can be ordered from here.
(To view contents sample please click here).
If you are already a member
of the Inner Sanctum you should have been emailed a full copy. To retrieve
the original article please fill out the order
form.
Strong evidence of Bagle and MyDoom connection emerges
London, UK - 9 March 2004, 16:30 GMT - New malicious code resembling
variants of the Bagle malware family has been found this morning. The variant
comes repackaged as Hacker Activated Code (HAC) which does not replicate like
usual malware. The HAC features suggest that it has been written by the same group
that authored other Bagle variants.
[CONTINUES]
The full news alert includes material from F-secure's
weblogs.
Full details of the February 2004 report are available as of 1st March 2004
and can be ordered from here.
(To view contents sample please click here).
If you are already a member
of the Inner Sanctum you should have been emailed a full copy. To retrieve
the original article please fill out the order
form.
Economic Damage from Bagle, MyDoom & NetSky crosses
$100bn;
Financial motive behind the malware variants likely
London, UK - 8 March 2004, 14:30 GMT - In what has turned out to be
an historically unprecedented week, the combined economic damage to date from
Bagle, MyDoom and NetSky has now crossed $100bn worldwide over the weekend.
The first eight days of March indicate that it is heading to be the worst
month for malware proliferation in 2004 according to the mi2g Intelligence
Unit, the world leader in digital risk. January and February have also been
record breaking months. Seven of the top ten most damaging malware families
of all time had their peak infection points in the last twelve months, suggesting
a serious rise in global malware epidemics in the last year. Over 215 countries
have now been infected by the MyDoom, NetSky and Bagle malware tsunami. The
most damaging malware since 1995 that remains ahead of NetSky is now limited
to MyDoom and Sobig.
[CONTINUES]
Full details of the February 2004 report are available as of 1st March 2004
and can be ordered from here.
(To view contents sample please click here).
If you are already a member
of the Inner Sanctum you should have been emailed a full copy. To retrieve
the original article please fill out the order
form.
Digital Warfare - Combating the malware tsunami
London, UK - 4 March 2004, 14:00 GMT - "A long time ago in
a galaxy far far away... It is a period of war. A malware tsunami has struck
from three rebel bases, and a major blow to the Digital Empire has been dealt.
During the battle, rebels and criminal syndicates have managed to uncover
critical vulnerabilities across the galactic network.
An army of zombie computers is being amassed with enough power to cripple
the entire Digital Empire. Pursued by the malware writers with new variants,
the anti-virus generals have issued instructions to update malware definitions
every hour as opposed to every day. The critical issue of computer maintenance
has now become an insurmountable task..."
The trouble is that this problem is not occurring in a galaxy far far away
but right here and now in the global digital eco-system.
How is an hourly update regime tenable in an organisation with thousands of
computers? As a result of the malware tsunami in the last four days, a new
and dangerous point has been reached in the global digital eco-system. New
malware variants are released and proliferate ever faster and as a result
there is a lag before they are added to virus definition records, during which
they cannot be recognised by anti-virus systems. The majority of anti-virus
solutions currently on offer are therefore no longer viable in countering
malware tsunamis.
[CONTINUES]
Full details of the February 2004 report are available as of 1st March 2004
and can be ordered from here.
(To view contents sample please click here).
If you are already a member
of the Inner Sanctum you should have been emailed a full copy. To retrieve
the original article please fill out the order
form.
