Infection detection

A team of Canadian researchers has uncovered a vast spy network based mostly in China that used malicious software to track and intrude on computer systems used by the Dalai Lama, among others. It a sign of things to come as we hook our lives into the electronic grid.

From the New York Times:

Their sleuthing opened a window into a broader operation that, in less than two years, has infiltrated at least 1,295 computers in 103 countries, including many belonging to embassies, foreign ministries and other government offices, as well as the Dalai Lama’s Tibetan exile centers in India, Brussels, London and New York.

The researchers, who have a record of detecting computer espionage, said they believed that in addition to the spying on the Dalai Lama, the system, which they called GhostNet, was focused on the governments of South Asian and Southeast Asian countries.