Former KGB spook plans to make the net totally secure

NEWS A former KGB officer claims to have found a way of making the internet 100 per cent secure with a solution based on constantly changing IP addresses. Until 1980 Victor Sheymov was a high-ranking employee of the KGB. After that he moved over to America and worked for the NSA and the CIA. Now head of Invicta Networks, Sheymov claims he has developed a new internet tool that he claims will usher in a new chapter in a golden age of online security. The system has been dubbed Variable Cyber Coordinates is based on the premise that IP addresses in a network are changed every millisecond. The protected computer is managed by special network cards which allow the user to specify the time period for the change of address. A control unit coordinates the data flow and assigns it to the relevant addressees. In a few months Sheymov wants to bring a second version onto the market especially for ecommerce, although he's keeping the price tag quiet. Sheymov has an influential in the form of the world's largest insurance group, American International Group, which plans to offer all companies that use the new software a 10 per cent discount on their fees. Ty Sagalow, the manager responsible for introducing the scheme at AIG said: "We believe that our loss risk will be reduced through the software." The question of the security of the control unit itself still remains unanswered. If an attacker knows the algorithm, after the data flow has been distributed, he can also reconstruct the content - meaning the control unit could become a target for hackers. US security expert Dennis Steinauer highlighted the sceptical reception from security pundits. He said: "The whole thing sounds like an additional security tool. You should never just work with such a device, especially as it's not yet been tested." Irene Binal, reporter, http://www.silicon.de