With the recent revelations about malware that cannot be deleted even after upgrades and formats linking itself to the NSA and with the ongoing successes of hackers and other tech experts to penetrate spying devices, a digital war focusing on data and surveillance has been launched!

Some days ago, the waters of cyber security were shaken by the revelation that took place in the Annual Security Analyst Summit from Kaspersky. In this annual event, there was proof of malware being embedded into hard drives by the NSA and not being deleted after a long time and effort. Of course, this was shocking although nobody had doubts as to the extent of the penetration of the Government as to surveillance and monitoring of other sources abroad.

The news of the NSA (or, to be more specific, the Equation Group) implanting such software on hard drives that does not even go away after targeted erasure processes is the reason for worries over the consequences that this can cause in the long run. Costin Raiu, who is head of Kaspersky’s Global Research and Analysis Team, has made a comment on the impact of such a revelation at Wired: “As we uncover more of these cyber espionage operations we realize how little we understand about the true capabilities of these threat actors”.

However, as it turns out the NSA and other governmental agencies and institutions are not the only ones who can access and make use of such software. On the contrary, recently we have been informed as to the success of hackers to reconstruct NSA spying devices at a truly affordable cost. This means that the Government of the USA cannot rest assured of having the sole privilege to spy over other people, both locally and internationally. Instead, there is a huge competition as to the amount of data that will be intercepted and used to the benefit of each party. Apparently the spying device that is used in the case of hackers is not as sophisticated as the tools used by the NSA; still, the results do not vary and this raises concerns over the whole aspect of online surveillance and data interception.

Working on a budget is not a limited factor that prevents you from gaining access to such helpful tools and the hackers highlight that in the most successful manner. If you have been paying close attention, there have been several different cases of malware being able to penetrate the system of a PC and not let go. In the cases of such computer infections, there is no effective cure that will reverse the situation and immunize the computer after having dealt with the threat successfully.

In the light of such events and with the certainty that everyone can be exposed by both the Government and other professionals and experts on the subject of technology, it is needless to say that there is a hostile environment out there. The capture of data can be crucial and the surveillance tactics have become more sophisticated and therefore more fruitful as a whole. Once malware has been installed inside your software, it is true that it is next to impossible to defend effectively and get rid of the infection. So, the best cure is none other than prevention and thorough knowledge on the updated news about cybercrime and security online!