More needs to be done to prevent hacks, says McAfee

19:28 27th January 2010

Governments and multinational companies should step up their defences to prevent potential threats such as the recent Chinese attack on Google, according to the chief executive of McAfee.

"The Google attack was the most sophisticated we have ever seen with the most complex attack vectors targeting networks with commercial impact," David DeWalt was quoted as saying.

He added that far too many organisations had yet to take the appropriate measures to stave off the possibility of a new attack.

"You hope [the recent China attack would stir some action] but I don't think it has happened as much as we hope it has," he said.

According to Mr DeWalt, the world is not a "safe place" anymore, with global attacks taking place on a daily basis.

In other news, electronic viruses targeting applications will increase this year, a study has reportedly said.

Of 136 IP network operators surveyed, 35 per cent believe attacks will focus on applications instead of operating systems in 2010, network security supplier Arbor Networks was quoted as saying by Computer Weekly.

Written by Hannah James

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