Revealing the attitudes towards cyberwarfare and detailing other trends and developments in IT security, Sophos has published the mid-year 2010 Security Threat Report.
The survey of 1,077 computer users uncovers some alarming attitudes towards international cyber-espionage. Respondents were asked questions including whether they thought spying via hacking or malware attacks is an acceptable practice and if the computer networks of private companies in other countries are legitimate targets.
63% of those polled believe that it is acceptable for their country to spy on other nations by hacking or installing malware (23% said yes at any time. 40% said only during wartime, 37% said no).
A staggering one out of 14 respondents believes that crippling denial of service attacks against another country's communication or financial websites are acceptable during peacetime (49% said only in wartime, 44% said never).
"It is perhaps surprising that so many people seem to think that using the Internet as a tool for spying, or even as a weapon, is an acceptable practice," said Graham Cluley, Senior Technology Consultant, Sophos. "After all, by giving the green light to these kinds of activities, you'd also have to expect to be at the receiving end too. Maybe, yours will be the next company probed by an overseas power."
