Tech gap hampers war on cyberterror

Tech gap hampers war on cyberterror

PHILIPPINES: Technology gaps among Southeast Asian nations are
making it difficult for authorities to combat cyberterrorism,
which has emerged as a new threat to regional security, experts
said on Monday.

Speaking at an ASEAN forum on cyberterrorism in the central
city of Cebu, Philippine commissioner for Information and
Communications Technology, Tim Diaz de Rivera, said
cyberterrorism was "transnational and borderless".

He said one of the problems facing the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations in any attempt to tackle the problem was
the "technology gaps between member states".

The event is being attended by diplomats, cybersecurity and
terrorism experts and officials from 25 countries or economies.

"While there is the bigger issue of bridging the various
digital divide gaps between member states, there is also the need
to bridge the capability gaps in protecting our respective
information infrastructures from the awesome threat of
cyberterrorism," Rivera told the forum.

The three-day forum aims to discuss and share information on
national policies on cyberterrorism.

Cyberterrorism is an attack by individuals or groups on a
country's computer infrastructure that could undermine security,
similar to the I LOVE YOU virus created by a young Filipino
hacker in 2000 that infected and compromised computer systems
including that of the Pentagon. -- AFP