Mikko Hypponen
Mikko Hypponen
Mikko Hermanni Hyppönenis a computer security expert and columnist...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionScientist
CountryUnited States of America
countries foreigners gathering global legal nobody private rights services states target time united using visibility
Foreigners like me have no privacy rights whatsoever. Yet we keep using U.S.-based services all the time, making us a legal target for gathering and storing our private information. Other countries do surveillance as well. But nobody has the global visibility that United States does.
care collected foreign intelligence legal monitor though worried
U.S. intelligence has the legal right to monitor foreign communications as they go through to U.S. service providers. However, even though something is legal doesn't make it right. I'm not American; I don't really care about what data is being collected about American citizens. I'm worried about us, the foreigners.
against computer countries defending digital everyday focused foreign handful highly industry labs provide rely
Defending against military-strength malware is a real challenge for the computer security industry. Furthermore, the security industry is not global. It is highly focused in just a handful of countries. The rest of the countries rely on foreign security labs to provide their everyday digital security for them.
computers copies difference emails flights foreign meals online people pictures realize recorded stuff trips
There is a difference between the stuff that people put online themselves, like pictures and their trips and flights and meals they've eaten, than the stuff that they don't realize is also going into foreign computers. Like, for example, copies of your emails or every single online search you ever do, 'cause all that is being recorded as well.
infection worst
It's still climbing. It's not the worst we've seen, but the infection is sizable.
attack everybody hoping looks major patch succeeding
Everybody was hoping they would get the patch out before a major attack would start. Now it looks like they are succeeding in doing just that. Well done.
accept phone spread user
Not one of these is able to spread by itself, always the user of the phone has to accept installing of the virus.
file love names people quite realistic saw sends social uses
It's really quite clever, ... It uses realistic file names and sends those to people you know. It's social engineering, just like we saw with Love Letter.
glad guy message stupid type
I'm glad the guy was stupid enough to get caught. If you have to write viruses, something like the type of message is not bad.
emerge happened mobile sure took viruses
It took 15 years for the first moneymaking viruses to emerge for the PC. On the mobile side, I'm sure it will happen. It just hasn't happened yet.
affects computers security
The vulnerability probably affects more computers than any other security vulnerability, ever.
avoided boot cleaned computers everybody happen home machines majority people problem until vast work
(The) vast majority of the machines infected...are home computers. Nothing will happen on them until people get home from work and boot up their machines. We'd like to think that they whole problem was avoided and everybody cleaned up their machines in time. But unfortunately, that's probably not true.
alarming appear biggest build competing gangs infected network seem three turning worms
We seem to have a botwar on our hands. There appear to be three different virus-writing gangs turning out new worms at an alarming rate, as if they would be competing who would build the biggest network of infected machines.
alarming appears biggest build competing gangs infected network rate seem three turning worms
We seem to have a botwar on our hands. There appears to be three different virus-writing gangs turning out new worms at an alarming rate  as if they would be competing who would build the biggest network of infected machines.