easy prey for cyber attacker - '17-year-old' could cripple economy, consultant warns

Canada is woefully unprepared for a massive cyber-attack that is
within the capabilities of any run-of-the-mill hacker, and which
could cripple the business of the nation, warns a leading security
expert.

Dragos Ruiu, an Edmonton-based computer security consultant, says
it's time for the government to protect complex computer networks
that can now be hijacked with the simplest of tools.

"There has got to be a lot more thought and a lot more talk and a
lot more brains applied to the situation," said Ruiu. "The cyber-
warfare world is the only place a 17-year-old kid can take on a
nation-state and win."

Ruiu, a key organizer of the CanSecWest Applied Security Conference
that opens in Vancouver today, said that when it comes to computer
security, even the popular pocket-sized smartphones are open to
attack. He said this year's conference will play host to a hacking
contest to see which cellphone is the most secure.

"We expect the first platform to be hacked will be the iPhone," he
said. "Phone platforms are not necessarily more secure than
laptops."

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/technology/Canada+easy+prey+cyber+attac
ker+expert/2718886/story.html