Why should I be concerned about cryptovirology?
If you have confidential information on your computer, your computer is connected to the Internet, and you have not analyzed the code for the programs that you run, then cryptovirology could affect you. If this is true of the company you work for then cryptovirology could affect you. If you purchase items “securely” on-line then you could be affected as well. Advanced malware attacks are a general security problem that can adversely affect the lives of many people. The potential impact of cryptovirology is especially acute when it comes to smartcard use. Down the road the private key that an executive (or military officer) generates and uses may be compromised and the executive may have to clear up a problem caused by something that he or she was completely unaware of. Similarly, contracts signed using an executive’s private key may have to be litigated when the executive disavows them, and asserts that his or her private key was compromised (e.g., by a kleptographic attack). The only
