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| Criminals 'may overwhelm the web' | Criminals 'may overwhelm the web' |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| Criminals controlling millions of personal computers are threatening the internet's future, experts have warned. | Criminals controlling millions of personal computers are threatening the internet's future, experts have warned. |
| Up to a quarter of computers on the net may be used by cyber criminals in so-called botnets, said Vint Cerf, one of the fathers of the internet. | Up to a quarter of computers on the net may be used by cyber criminals in so-called botnets, said Vint Cerf, one of the fathers of the internet. |
| Technology writer John Markoff said: "It's as bad as you can imagine, it puts the whole internet at risk." | Technology writer John Markoff said: "It's as bad as you can imagine, it puts the whole internet at risk." |
| The panel of leading experts was discussing the future of the internet at the World Economic Forum in Davos. | The panel of leading experts was discussing the future of the internet at the World Economic Forum in Davos. |
| Internet pandemic | Internet pandemic |
| Mr Cerf, who is one of the co-developers of the TCP/IP standard that underlies all internet traffic and now works for Google, likened the spread of botnets to a "pandemic". | Mr Cerf, who is one of the co-developers of the TCP/IP standard that underlies all internet traffic and now works for Google, likened the spread of botnets to a "pandemic". |
| Of the 600 million computers currently on the internet, between 100 and 150 million were already part of these botnets, Mr Cerf said. | Of the 600 million computers currently on the internet, between 100 and 150 million were already part of these botnets, Mr Cerf said. |
| Despite all that, the net is still working, which is pretty amazing. It's pretty resilient Vint Cerf class="" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/sci_tech/2006/hi_tech_crime/default.stm">Cracking hi-tech crime | |
| Botnets are made up of large numbers of computers that malicious hackers have brought under their control after infecting them with so-called Trojan virus programs. | Botnets are made up of large numbers of computers that malicious hackers have brought under their control after infecting them with so-called Trojan virus programs. |
| While most owners are oblivious to the infection, the networks of tens of thousands of computers are used to launch spam e-mail campaigns, denial-of-service attacks or online fraud schemes. | While most owners are oblivious to the infection, the networks of tens of thousands of computers are used to launch spam e-mail campaigns, denial-of-service attacks or online fraud schemes. |
| Net resilience | Net resilience |
| Mr Markoff, who writes for the New York Times, said that a single botnet at one point used up about 15% of Yahoo's search capacity. | Mr Markoff, who writes for the New York Times, said that a single botnet at one point used up about 15% of Yahoo's search capacity. |
| It used retrieved random text snippets to camouflage messages so that its spam e-mail could get past spam filters. | It used retrieved random text snippets to camouflage messages so that its spam e-mail could get past spam filters. |
| "Despite all that, the net is still working, which is amazing. It's pretty resilient," said Mr Cerf. | "Despite all that, the net is still working, which is amazing. It's pretty resilient," said Mr Cerf. |
| The expert panel, among them Michael Dell, founder of Dell computers, and Hamadoun Toure, secretary general of the International Telecommunication Union, agreed that a solution had to be found to ensure the survival of the web. | The expert panel, among them Michael Dell, founder of Dell computers, and Hamadoun Toure, secretary general of the International Telecommunication Union, agreed that a solution had to be found to ensure the survival of the web. |
| But its members were unsure about feasible solutions, even though they identified operating systems and authentication as key issues. | But its members were unsure about feasible solutions, even though they identified operating systems and authentication as key issues. |
| Microsoft has tried to toughen up its programs' security measures | Microsoft has tried to toughen up its programs' security measures |
| It was still too easy for net criminals to hide their tracks, several panel members said, although they acknowledged that it was probably not desirable that every individual was definitively identifiable. | It was still too easy for net criminals to hide their tracks, several panel members said, although they acknowledged that it was probably not desirable that every individual was definitively identifiable. |
| "Anonymity has its value, and it has its risk," said Jonathan Zittrain, professor for internet governance at the University of Oxford. | "Anonymity has its value, and it has its risk," said Jonathan Zittrain, professor for internet governance at the University of Oxford. |
| Closing doors | Closing doors |
| Operating systems like Microsoft Windows, meanwhile, still made it too easy for criminals to infiltrate them, the experts said. | Operating systems like Microsoft Windows, meanwhile, still made it too easy for criminals to infiltrate them, the experts said. |
| Microsoft had done a good job improving security for its latest operating system, Windows Vista, said Mr Markoff. | Microsoft had done a good job improving security for its latest operating system, Windows Vista, said Mr Markoff. |
| But already pirated copies of Vista were circulating in China, even though the consumer launch of Vista has been scheduled for next Tuesday. | But already pirated copies of Vista were circulating in China, even though the consumer launch of Vista has been scheduled for next Tuesday. |
| Experience showed that about 50% of all pirated Windows programmes came with Trojans pre-installed on them, Mr Markoff said. | Experience showed that about 50% of all pirated Windows programmes came with Trojans pre-installed on them, Mr Markoff said. |
| Mr Dell said the future might bring "disposable virtual PCs", accessed through the internet, that would minimise the threat of a persistent virus infection. | Mr Dell said the future might bring "disposable virtual PCs", accessed through the internet, that would minimise the threat of a persistent virus infection. |
| Mr Toure said that whatever the solution, the fight against botnets was a "war" that could only be won if all parties - regulators, governments, telecoms firms, computer users and hardware and software makers - worked together. | Mr Toure said that whatever the solution, the fight against botnets was a "war" that could only be won if all parties - regulators, governments, telecoms firms, computer users and hardware and software makers - worked together. |