Q&A: Eugene Kaspersky on taking on the big boys

Everyone will. Most people will take it.

The Stuxnet story, as far as I know... they were disconnected from the internet. So the lesson is to have a very strict policy over new data which you upload to critical IT systems.

If you need to upgrade the system, take it offline, upgrade, double check and then get it back [up and running]. It's better to have a more secure operating system in this environment, maybe a dedicated operating system, which has very strict security regulation. Only a limited set of applications can be used, they must be signed and only a limited set of people has access to the system.

It is much more expensive to develop such a system but [without one] the risk is much higher.

New security technologies are not there to replace existing technologies. They are a new layer of protection. Like a seat belt in a car. It's not a replacement for the airbag.

You've been talking about cloud computing here at InfoSec. What do you see as the benefits of cloud-based security technologies?

Our view on new security technologies is that they are not there to replace existing technologies. [They] are a new layer of protection. Like a seat belt in a car. It's not a replacement for the airbag.

We have mainly cloud-based technologies now in our products... Cloud-based technologies recognise that there are different people, different countries, different places to download executables from, not just the source They recognise that new software is being spread through the internet.

With these we can stop new malware within a few minutes. We can stop it before it is run on computers.

Traditional technology protects you after some time. This cloud technology protects you immediately. It protects you against most of the malware but not 100 per cent.

There are some high-end malicious technologies, which are not possible to stop in this way. For example, polymorphic malware, malware which mutates.

With cloud technologies it is possible to stop most cyber criminals.

Tom Brewster

Tom Brewster is currently an associate editor at Forbes and an award-winning journalist who covers cyber security, surveillance, and privacy. Starting his career at ITPro as a staff writer and working up to a senior staff writer role, Tom has been covering the tech industry for more than ten years and is considered one of the leading journalists in his specialism.

He is a proud alum of the University of Sheffield where he secured an undergraduate degree in English Literature before undertaking a certification from General Assembly in web development.