TechCentralTechCentral
    Facebook Twitter YouTube LinkedIn
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentral TechCentral
    NEWSLETTER
    • News

      Alviva shares leap higher on R3-billion take-private offer

      30 June 2022

      Datatec to sell Analysys Mason for as much as R4.1-billion

      30 June 2022

      Futuregrowth launches start-up fund, targets R600-million raise

      30 June 2022

      Eskom is killing the rand

      30 June 2022

      Eskom ramps up load shedding as crisis deepens

      30 June 2022
    • World

      Graphics card prices plummet as crypto demand dries up

      30 June 2022

      Bitcoin just had its worst quarter in a decade

      30 June 2022

      Samsung beats TSMC to 3nm chip production

      30 June 2022

      Napster plots crypto comeback

      29 June 2022

      Pictures: Chinese spacecraft acquires images of entire planet of Mars

      29 June 2022
    • In-depth

      The NFT party is over

      30 June 2022

      The great crypto crash: the fallout, and what happens next

      22 June 2022

      Goodbye, Internet Explorer – you really won’t be missed

      19 June 2022

      Oracle’s database dominance threatened by rise of cloud-first rivals

      13 June 2022

      Everything Apple announced at WWDC – in less than 500 words

      7 June 2022
    • Podcasts

      How your organisation can triage its information security risk

      22 June 2022

      Everything PC S01E06 – ‘Apple Silicon’

      15 June 2022

      The youth might just save us

      15 June 2022

      Everything PC S01E05 – ‘Nvidia: The Green Goblin’

      8 June 2022

      Everything PC S01E04 – ‘The story of Intel – part 2’

      1 June 2022
    • Opinion

      Has South Africa’s advertising industry lost its way?

      21 June 2022

      Rob Lith: What Icasa’s spectrum auction means for SA companies

      13 June 2022

      A proposed solution to crypto’s stablecoin problem

      19 May 2022

      From spectrum to roads, why fixing SA’s problems is an uphill battle

      19 April 2022

      How AI is being deployed in the fight against cybercriminals

      8 April 2022
    • Company Hubs
      • 1-grid
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Amplitude
      • Atvance Intellect
      • Axiz
      • BOATech
      • CallMiner
      • Digital Generation
      • E4
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • IBM
      • Kyocera Document Solutions
      • Microsoft
      • Nutanix
      • One Trust
      • Pinnacle
      • Skybox Security
      • SkyWire
      • Tarsus on Demand
      • Videri Digital
      • Zendesk
    • Sections
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud computing
      • Consumer electronics
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Energy
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Motoring and transport
      • Public sector
      • Science
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home»News»Local ISPs club together to fight malware

    Local ISPs club together to fight malware

    News By Duncan McLeod23 April 2012
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email

    The Internet Service Providers’ Association (Ispa) is launching a new, member-driven programme in an attempt to root out malicious software infecting the computers of SA Internet users.

    The project, called iCode, is a voluntary system in terms of which Ispa members will notify customers if network traffic patterns suggest their PCs have become infected by malware. It is based on Australia’s iCode.org project.

    Ispa special adviser Ant Brooks says the association has already received buy-in from various SA law enforcement agencies and a pilot will be launched this year.
    Though it’s an Ispa-led project, Brooks says non-Ispa members are welcome to subscribe to the iCode. TelkomInternet, SA’s largest retail ISP, is not an Ispa member, but Brooks says he doesn’t expect resistance in persuading it to join.

    iCode.org founder and president Peter Coroneos, who was in SA last week, says cyber security is becoming a critical issue for ISPs. “Over the last few years, the botnet phenomenon has become a front-and-centre issue in Internet security,” he says, adding that retail antivirus products no longer provide a complete solution for cyber security. “We’re at the point now where the average home user is no longer in a position to manage this themselves.”

    Coroneos says botnets threaten end users’ privacy and personal information, feed into international crime and “go to the heart” of network integrity for service providers. “The capacity for damage increases with the speed of the pipes.”

    iCode works by introducing a new layer of protection at the service provider layer, offering scanning tools and diagnostics that go beyond what retail software on users’ PCs can pick up.

    “We are suggesting that if you can add value to the whole defensive environment through network-level monitoring, then you are adding a level of sophistication that puts the bad guys on the back foot a little bit,” Coroneos says.

    Of course, network-level scanning of data traffic is likely to raise the hackles of privacy advocates. Coroneos says this was a major concern in Australia when ISPs began implementing the iCode. But he says ISPs do not scan the content of users’ communication; rather, the system conducts behavioral analysis of customers’ computers. “If your machine wakes up in the middle of the night and sends a few hours of traffic and then shuts down, this is typical of a spam bot.”

    The system alerts ISPs to potential problems, allowing them to contact the customer — usually via an e-mail — about a potential problem. The user is then provided with a link to an iCode website, where they can download free tools to scan their computer for potential problems. “It helps reduce the theft of personal information and identity fraud, so it’s actually pro-privacy,” Coroneos says.

    “This is about the industry striking back [against cyber criminals],” he says.

    SA will be only the second jurisdiction worldwide, after Australia, to implement the iCode. But Coroneos says there is strong interest from other countries, including the US.

    The iCode, once implemented, should allow local ISPs to reduce bad traffic on their networks and lower their customer support costs. Coroneos says it will also help ISPs improve their reputation among customers and help ensure their networks aren’t blacklisted.  — (c) 2012 NewsCentral Media

    • Image: .hd barraza/Flickr
    Ant Brooks Ispa Peter Coroneos TelkomInternet
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email
    Previous ArticleWhy additive manufacturing will change the world
    Next Article Third-gen iPad gets SA pricing

    Related Posts

    Alviva shares leap higher on R3-billion take-private offer

    30 June 2022

    Datatec to sell Analysys Mason for as much as R4.1-billion

    30 June 2022

    Futuregrowth launches start-up fund, targets R600-million raise

    30 June 2022
    Add A Comment

    Comments are closed.

    Promoted

    Billetterie simplifies interactions between law firms and clients

    30 June 2022

    Think herding cats is tricky? Try herding a cloud

    29 June 2022

    How your business can help hybrid workers effectively

    28 June 2022
    Opinion

    Has South Africa’s advertising industry lost its way?

    21 June 2022

    Rob Lith: What Icasa’s spectrum auction means for SA companies

    13 June 2022

    A proposed solution to crypto’s stablecoin problem

    19 May 2022

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2022 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.