Madrid hosted on October 26th and 27th one of the major international cybersecurity summits. 

The fair Cyber Security World has brought together large technology companies, public administrations and references from the IT sector to address the main topics. 

Among them that of cybersecurity. 

An increasingly analyzed concept that, in the midst of the Ukrainian war, has multiplied its concern among companies and governments.

What do you know about the Madrid cybersecurity summit?

Data hosting in the cloud, the adaptation of the different administrations and the emergence of new solutions are some of the issues addressed by the major players in the sector with the aim of preparing for the new digital era.

“Europe is already on alert for data to not depend on third parties.

It is a maxim both among public administrations and among companies, who may see their systems attacked by hackers or simple computer errors,” 

ensures monitoring expert Sancho Lerena, CEO of the IT company Pandora FMS. 

The European Commission, in fact, has already set ahead the goal of achieving technological independence by 2030. 

According to the data they provided, 90% of the data of the European Union are managed by American companies. 

In addition, less than 4% of major online platforms are European. 

An example of this technological fragility is that the European market represents less than 10% in the microchip manufacturing sector. 

“In a couple of years, more than 50% of companies should be using the Cloud,” the expert says. 

The European future of cybersecurity

The challenge for 2030 is to maximize digitisation within the European Union. 

The project Compass Digital, for example, includes multiple investments and objectives, but the sector agrees that many steps must be taken to achieve full cybersecurity nowadays. 

“There are many companies that still have legacy, outdated systems that cannot incorporate the latest security developments,” acknowledges Lerena.

The IT company Pandora FMS is one of those that works with both digital administrations and companies through its monitoring system. 

The concept of monitoring is increasingly widespread in the sector, as it allows the real-time management of all data generated within an IT structure. 

That way, companies achieve greater efficiency and reduce costs.

“This technology not only helps improve the control of data and activity of a platform, it also strengthens security and warns about possible errors to improve reaction time.” 

Explains the head of technology, whose solution is present in institutions such as Madrid Digital, relying on the Comunidad de Madrid, or the EMT. 

Also, having international giants such as Rakuten or Toshiba shows the importance that this type of technology currently has.

Europe is already looking to 2030 with the intention of extending this digitisation.

Companies are incorporating monitoring systems and strengthening the cybersecurity of their companies.The objective is none other than to prevent European actors from being “well below the EU’s global economic weight” in technologically relevant areas.

Essential for Smart Cities

Cybersecurity will become increasingly important.

Especially considering that the objective of the most developed countries is to implement those known as Smart Cities where technology and data control will be fundamental for the efficient management of cities.

The concept of Smart Cities responds to those cities where, through data analysis and the use of the latest technological solutions, services are more efficient for citizens and do not generate a negative impact either in economic terms or in the environmental field. 

For example, to find out in which areas more waste is generated to improve the garbage service in that area or the management of public transport through citizen accessibility. 

Therefore, the proper processing of these data and their security will be a pillar for the cities of the future. 

“Without the control of these data, and without technological independence, it will be very difficult to develop these Smart Cities in a stable way”, says Lerena. 

Here, in our beloved Pandora FMS blog, we have talked a big deal about computer risks. This does not mean of course that we consider ourselves to be faint-hearted or timid, but rather cautious heroes. And in order not to be alone in a battle against the evil that lurks around, today, continuing with this theme of terror and digital desolation, we bring you: some of the most dangerous computer viruses in human history!

These are the computer viruses you should fear the most!

What is a computer virus?

Before bringing on the storm, listing malicious software, we’d better explain a little what this whole thing about computer viruses is and why, although you have to be careful with them, you don’t need to use masks.

A computer virus is a malicious program or code created and conceived to truncate the operation of a computer. 

Like the biological microorganism, they are also infectious, although these replicate only within computer equipment.

They propagate from one computer to another, usually attached to a legitimate document, then execute their cursed code.

Although you may think the computer virus has been with us since the first pulley system, it was Leonard M. Adleman, in 1984, the first to use the term while finding similarities between his student Fred Cohen’s college experiment and the HIV virus.

List of the most dangerous computer viruses that have ever existed

Now, let’s get down to business!

We go into it!

I LOVE YOU

Funny thing is, this virus does everything but love and appreciate you for who you are. In fact, on its own, it has devoted itself to creating chaos around the world with about 10 million dollars in damages.

It came to be believed that 10% of all computers in the world were infected by it and it caused large institutions and governments to disable their email system for not wanting to take any risks.

You see, something not even the tiresome, stalking Linkedin publicity achieved.

I love you was created in the Philippines by Reonel Ramones and Onel de Guzman using social engineering (“A set of techniques that cybercriminals use to trick incautious users into sending them confidential data, infecting their computers with malware, or opening links to infected sites”) they sneaked it into the Philippines, to all of Asia, and in a short time to the rest of the world.
Fun fact:

As the email they sent for you to click on the attachment was a declaration of love, the virus was called “I Love You”.

MELISSA

Its creator was David L. Smith and detonated in ’99 as an infected Word document that was presented to the world as the best thing ever for perverts:

“Hello, I am a list of passwords for pornographic websites.”

At that time the virus was mailed to the fifty most important people in your email and created havoc with his deceptive list of passwords. Of course, the most curious and salacious ones fell for it right away.

It also came with a sort of cover letter, a reference to the Simpsons.

Less than a week after his presentation to the public, David L. Smith was captured by the police. Oh, I’m sorry, David.

However, for his special collaboration with the authorities in trapping other perfidious virus creators, his sentence was reduced from 10 years to 20 months.

Still… His virus caused 80 million dollars in damage.

Fun fact:

If “Melissa” sounds like a sinuous and more like the name of a hurricane, it has to do with the fact that it comes from an exotic dancer from Florida.

ZEUS

A trojan (“A malware that presents itself to the user as a seemingly legitimate and harmless program, but which, when executed, gives an attacker remote access to the infected computer”) created especially to truncate computers with Windows.

It did a number of awkward things on your computer, including capturing forms.
Most computers became infected due to hidden downloads or phishing (“A technique that involves sending an email from a cybercriminal to a user pretending to be a legitimate entity”).

It was used for such ominous things as stealing login credentials from social networks, emails, and bank accounts.

In the United States alone, more than one million computers were infected.

Fun fact:

It compromised corporations such as Amazon, Oracle, Bank of America, Cisco, and many more.

STUXNET 

The virus is believed to have been created by the Israel Defense Forces along with the United States Government.

With these two agents involved, what do you think? That the virus was spawned as an experimental project and that it got out of hand? Or that it was done, expressly, to bring chaos upon our civilization?

Bingo!

This virus was designed for cyber warfare.

It had the goal of halting Iran’s advances in nuclear defense. And so it was, much of the infection took place in Iran.

Fun fact:

It spread through infected pen drives and altered the speed of the devices until they became damaged.

CRYPTOLOCKER 

A ransomware (“A type of malicious program that restricts access to certain parts or files of the infected operating system and asks for a ransom in exchange for removing this restriction”) Trojan that uses, among other means, email to spread.

Once your computer was infected it went on to encrypt some files from the hard drive.

The thing here is that, even though it’s easy to remove as a virus, the files it encrypted stayed still encrypted, unless you paid a ransom by a deadline.

The ransom used to be $ 400, although it could increase, and the number of infected computers was 500,000.

Make the numbers yourself… With only half paying the scammers, you could afford a house in Florida!

Thank God, Evgeny Bogachev, leader of the organization that operated with this virus was arrested and forced to return all encrypted keys.

Fun fact:

In the end, only 1.3% of those infected fell into the scam… That’s about 3 million dollars. Not bad at all!

Dimas Pardo

Dimas P.L., de la lejana y exótica Vega Baja, CasiMurcia, periodista, redactor, taumaturgo del contenido y campeón de espantar palomas en los parques. Actualmente resido en Madrid donde trabajo como paladín de la comunicación en Pandora FMS y periodista freelance cultural en cualquier medio que se ofrezca. También me vuelvo loco escribiendo y recitando por los círculos poéticos más profundos y oscuros de la ciudad.

Dimas P.L., from the distant and exotic Vega Baja, CasiMurcia, journalist, editor, thaumaturgist of content and champion of scaring pigeons in parks. I currently live in Madrid where I work as a communication champion in Pandora FMS and as a freelance cultural journalist in any media offered. I also go crazy writing and reciting in the deepest and darkest poetic circles of the city.