GhostNet
No, not the computer network in the “Terminator” movies…. That was “Skynet.” 
This one is REAL! AFAIK (as far as I know), Skynet is not real….
Almost 1300 computers in 103 countries have been “assimilated” into a computer spying network, that is apparently based in China, according to The SecDev Group, based in Ottawa, Canada, and the University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory.
The network has been named “GhostNet,” and the malware that is installed can not only search the infected computers, but also has the capability to see and hear the people using them (by remote activation of cameras, microphones, and sound recording software) according to the Canadian report.
Targets so far have ranged from the Dalai Lama to NATO to the governments of South Asian and Southeast Asian counties. In the case of the Dalai Lama, researchers at the Munk Center for International Studies at the University of Toronto have determined that specific correspondence has been stolen and that the intruders had gained control of the email servers of the Dalai Lama’s organization.
Maybe GhostNet, like Bill Murray, was seeking “true enlightenment.”
Paranoid yet? You shouldn’t be. Paranoia is an UNREASONABLE fear. IMHO (in my humble opinion) most common fears related to invasion of privacy through computer networks today are totally reasonable.
The CNET article details how Canadian researchers examined the extent of GhostNet and compiled a log of compromised computers that dated back to May 22, 2007.
-Bill at Cheshire Cat Photo™
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