OXFORD UTOMO

could it a sheer coincidence ? or could it be a single that the competition among IT Security venders is getting hotter in Indonesia? or could it simply be an indication that Indonesia has become one of the world's top producers of malicious software (viruses, worms, Trojans, spam, DoS, phisting, spyware, adware, keyloggers and many others)?

whatever it was, las week I was invited to two events hosted by two of the top five anti-malware providers. The first was an invitation to luncheon with Eugene Kapersky, the CEO of Kapersky Lab, and the other with two executive from Symantec who were here to launch Norton 2010.

Unfortunately, the two events were on the same date and time. I could not out cut myself into two, so I was unable to attend both. And, as I had accepted Kapersky Lab's invitation first, I went to their event.
Then, when I got home, I saw a release from AVG in my inbox. AVG has released the free and commercial 9.0 version, which AVG claims is 50 percent faster, gives better protection and is easier to use. In addition to all that, I also received and email offer from MCAfee to extend my subscription to their Security Center at a discount of 27 percent. Well, I may choose to jump ship to get a better deal, though.

These four IT security software providers are among the best in the world. However, as far a I can remember, it was the first time that CEO and co-founder of such a company ever came to Indonesia - no suprise, as Kapersky Lab, which started in Russia, always looked at the global market.

so Eugene was on a trip around Southeast Asia to meet directlyu with his users, distributors and resellers. Indonesia was the first leg of his trip, and it included a lecture titled "Taking Responsibility for the Iternet" at Gadjah Mada University.

According to the Star, Eugune has challenged Malaysian students to conduct research and write papers on secreal new and interesting topics to be presented at "Kapersky Lab - IT Security for the Next Generation" in Rusia early next year. What I have found very interesting is the areas that the students are encouraged to deive into.

They include, as listed in The Star's report, "future ICT-related problems; psychology of cybecrime; economic structure of cybercrime; online commerce of e-crime; law and security, e.g. intellectual property rights, innovation and transfer of rights; impact, threats and incidents caused by botnets; and measuring malware and spam."

Malware makers are human beings, individuals rather than armies. So the psychology of cybercrime intrigues me alot. What drieves people to create so many hazards to other human beings who want to make good use of the godsend called the Internet? is it really their need to actualize themselves?

To show to the world that they exist and are capable of causing damage - often irreversible?

"in the past, that was the main motive," said the 20-year veteran Eugene Kapersky when I asked him. "Today, it is money. There is a lot of money to be made through cybercrime."

So, not surprisingly, Eugene believes that in the future