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| Spyware allows remote hackers to steal
confidential information from other PCs. |
According to several media reports, Israeli police have revealed
their findings of a large-scale industrial espionage scandal. A
London-based couple, Michael Haephrati, 41, and his wife Ruth
Brier-Haephrati, 28 were arrested last week for writing the
malicious software which was used by Israeli companies to spy on
their competitors.
A number of Israel's leading companies are suspected of hiring
private investigators to infect their competitors computers with
Trojan Horses, designed to record and report back confidential
findings. Infected industries include satellite, cellular
communication and auto manufacturing.
The London duo were detained and await an extradition hearing on
3 June. The malicious software was reported to have been tweaked
specifically for jobs, depending on the espionage task at hand.
"There are also companies abroad that were damaged. This is
still being investigated," said police Superintendent Roni Hindi,
head of the special fraud investigation team told the media.
Police are continuing their investigations, but reports allege
that over eighteen arrests took place - some of whom are top CEOs
of Israel's leading companies. According to Haaretz newspaper, nine
of the eighteen detained are detectives who are suspected of having
transferred confidential data of immense commercial value over a
period of 18 months.
"Computers can hold highly valuable and sensitive information,
often worth much more than the hardware equipment itself," said
Carole Theriault, security consultant at Sophos. "To keep this
information safe from data-stealing malicious software such as
spyware and Trojans, it is vital to protect the network with the
latest security software. "
More than 100 million users in 150 countries rely on Sophos as the best protection against complex threats and data loss. Sophos is committed to providing security and data protection solutions that are simple to manage, deploy and use and that deliver the industry's lowest total cost of ownership. Sophos offers award-winning encryption, endpoint security, web, email, and network access control solutions backed by SophosLabs - a global network of threat intelligence centers. With more than two decades of experience, Sophos is regarded as a leader in security and data protection by top analyst firms and has received many industry awards.
Sophos is headquartered in Boston, US and Oxford, UK. More information is available at www.sophos.com.