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Cuban computer networks under threat from malware
(EFE Ingles Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Havana, Aug 28 (EFE).- Cuban computer networks have been attacked in recent years by 2,966 "malignant programs," including viruses, "worms" and other malicious software, despite the island's restrictions on private access to the Internet, according to figures published Thursday.
A total of "413 viruses, 748 worms, 23 Jokes, 25 Exploits and no fewer than 1,757 Trojan Horses" have been detected, the Communist Party daily Juventud Rebelde reported, citing figures from state-run computer-security firm Segurmatica.
These numbers show, according to the daily, that the island "is not immune to attacks by hackers or to infections with malignant programs."
Neither national or user networks, it added, "are free from the threat posed by these intrusive files, which often get in because basic security measures have not been applied."
Juventud Rebelde has published other articles in recent months to bring attention to the problems that affect the security of the country's computer networks, such as hacking and a lack of programs to combat it.
Cuba officially connected to the Internet in 1996, but private access to the Web is restricted because - according to Havana - the United States' 46-year-old trade embargo on the island limits the range, quality and velocity of the connection.
The communist-ruled island accesses the Internet via a satellite channel and any addition to or modification of the channel requires a license from the U.S. Treasury Department, which enforces the embargo.
Internet speeds are so slow and the service so irregular that exasperated computer technicians and users joke that "cyberespacio" (cyberspace) does not exist in Cuba, only "ciberdespacio" (cyberslow).
Cuba's president, Gen. Raul Castro, on April 1 issued a decree making computers and accessories available to ordinary Cubans at state-run stores, but access to the Internet and to software is a matter that remains pending.
In May, Computer and Communications Ministry officials ruled out the possibility of giving ordinary Cubans unrestricted Internet access, saying the problem of "a lack of funds to make the service more broadly available will continue to exist."
But even if the technical obstacles were overcome, Cuba's one-party state would likely seek to maintain a tight grip on the Internet. EFE
arj/mc
Copyright ? 2008 EFE News Services (U.S.) Inc.
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