Cyberattacks From Brazil?

The following item was written by Nextgov reporter Dawn Lim.

Although most of the government-targeted cyberattacks that occurred last year were launched from China, targeted Chinese cyberattacks were actually less likely to be directed at governments than those launched from Brazil, said a cybersecurity analyst.

In fact, less than a quarter of cyberattacks launched from China in 2009 specifically targeted governments, said Dean Turner, director of the Global Intelligence Network, which tracks worldwide Internet threat data for security software developer Symantec.

In contrast, 48 percent of targeted cyberattacks launched from Brazil were directed at governments, he said, citing a Symantec report on government Internet security that was not released. But he cautioned that in the murky world of hacking, attackers hide their tracks easily, making it difficult to name the culprit.

According to a summary of the report, the United States was the country most frequently targeted by denial-of-service attacks -- accounting for 56 percent of the worldwide total.

Perhaps when one finger points at another party, four fingers point back. According to Symantec, the United States has the second highest number of government-targeted cyberattacks originating from inside its borders -- after China.