All-seeing Dalai Lama uncovers Internet espionage ring in China

30 Mar 2009 | 13.50 Europe/London

A routine check of the offices of exiled Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama has opened the doorway to a massive espionage ring in China. The ring was uncovered by security experts at two Canadian universities, the University of Toronto and Cambridge University, who found malware and spyware on the spiritual leader of most of the world's buddhists' office computers.

Nicknamed "GhostNet", the espionage ring is said to have gained access to over 1,300 computers in 100 different countries around the world. Using sophisticated spyware the cyber spooks are said to have infiltrated e-mail accounts and taken control of desktop computers across a range of different organisations, including foreign embassies, governments and leading corporate businesses around the world

There are serious concerns that the find is only the tip of the iceberg and the suggestion that the Chinese government may in some way be involved is set to send shockwaves around the cyber-world. Many experts believe that cyber criminals in Russia are also in the process of setting up their own espionage rings which could potentially cause havoc round the world. Computer and Internet security need to be stepped up if we are to fight back and regain lost ground from the cyber criminals.

Source : Guardian