TALLINN: The world has to unite against the growing menace of cyber terrorism, IT experts said Thursday, evoking a recent "cyber war" against Georgia as the latest example of the threat.
"The world has finally woken up and understood that cyber security needs a global approach and is a very serious matter," Estonian politician Mart Laar told a cyber security forum in the Estonian capital Tallinn.
Estonia had to deal with attacks on government websites blamed on Russian hackers in the spring of 2007.
Official Georgian websites suffered a similar cyber offensive last month in the wake of Russia`s military offensive on Georgian soil. Estonia was among several states that stepped in to host hacked Georgian websites.
"The cyber war against Georgia in August demonstrated how it has become part of the real war on the ground and we must act," Laar added.
According to Laar, cyber attacks against the Georgian websites came a day ahead of Russia`s August 8 military action in the country, a move roundly condemned in the West.
Robert Kramer, vice-president of public policy for CompTIA, the Computing Technology Industry Association uniting the world`s top IT firms, underscored that global cyber security starts at home with the average Internet user.
"The weakest link in cyber space is the human being behind the computer with not enough awareness and skills on IT security matters," Kramer told the forum.
Heli Tiirmaa-Klaar, an IT expert with Estonia`s defence ministry, repeated the warning.
"People everywhere need to understand that your unprotected computer at home can be used as a tool in cyber-war," she said.
Tim Boerner, an IT security expert with the US Secret Service, said experts noted increased attacks on Georgian web sites weeks before the first bombs fell on Georgia.
"Over one million computers worldwide were used during the cyber attacks against Estonia in spring 2007," he added.
An ex-Soviet republic that broke free from Moscow in 1991, the tiny Baltic Sea state of Estonia joined the European Union and NATO in 2004.
It has become a leader in global IT development and has focused heavily on cyber security since suffering the wave of cyber attacks in early 2007.
End. | 
Health
