Brazil Leads Hacker Pack

The U.S. remains the biggest victim of hackers, as Brazil leads the perpetrators of worldwide digital attacks. The September 2003 findings from mi2g coincide with the 2nd anniversary of 9/11 and the 3rd anniversary of the Palestinian Intifada.

Brazil caused the most digital destruction during September 2003 with 10,233 overt attacks, followed by Turkey (1,312); Morocco (210); and Saudi Arabia (65).

mi2g asserts that the principal motivation for Brazilian hackers is intellectual challenge and criminal syndicate activity, while the motives for Turkish, Moroccan and Saudi hackers are rooted more in anti-U.S./UK/Israel sentiments and protest against the occupation of Iraq and parts of Palestine.

Origin of Digital Attacks, 2003
Brazil	95,544
Turkey	14,795
USA	2,955
Indonesia	2,360
Egypt	2,365
UK	1,707
Morocco	1,650
Pakistan	1,398
Mexico	1,317
Malaysia	1,215
Source: mi2g

Most Attacked Countries Since September 2002
USA	71,868
Germany	17,529
Brazil	14,785
UK	13,417
Source: mi2g

A separate mi2g study on UK business continuity revealed that some companies are not prepared to withstand a Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Digital (CBRN-D) type of terrorist attack.

Roughly one-third of the surveyed organizations do not have business continuity capability in the event of any disaster; 20 percent are unable to inform staff worldwide of the occurrence of a major disaster and are incapable of identifying critical assets and key staff; one-third don’t have a designated disaster recovery team; and one-in-three organizations are incapable of mobilizing a backup supplier for continuing their processes. Also, approximately one-third of the companies are either unaware or do not have proper insurance cover for a CBRN-D type disaster.

The study was conducted among companies in the sectors of energy, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, financial services, defense research, urban universities and professional services.