Warning of a "cyber arms race," a leading Web security firm said on Tuesday that China, France, Israel, Russia and the United States were among countries that have developed "cyber weapons".

"McAfee began to warn of the global cyber arms race more than two years ago, but now we're seeing increasing evidence that it's become real," said Dave DeWalt, president and chief executive of McAfee Inc.

"Several nations around the world are actively engaged in cyber war -like preparations and attacks," he said. "Today, the weapons are not nuclear, but virtual, and everyone must adapt to these threats."

The Santa Clara, California-based McAfee, in its fifth annual "Virtual Criminology Report," said China, France, Israel, Russia and the United States have developed "advanced offensive cyber capabilities".

'Cyber warfare is a reality'

McAfee said that cyber-attacks with political objectives were on the rise and although there was disagreement among experts over its definition "cyber warfare is a reality".

Among the cases cited in the report were the August 2008 cyber campaign against Georgia by Russian nationalists during the South Ossetia war and July 2009 attacks against official US and South Korean websites believed by some experts to have come from North Korea.

"Over the past year, the increase in politically motivated cyber-attacks has raised alarm and caution, with targets including the White House, Department of Homeland Security, US Secret Service and Department of Defense in the US alone," McAfee said.

"Nation-states are actively developing cyber warfare capabilities and involved in the cyber arms race, targeting government networks and critical infrastructures," it said.

McAfee said what it called a "Cyber Cold War" may already be underway.

"While we have not yet seen a 'hot' cyber war between major powers, the efforts of nation-states to build increasingly sophisticated cyber-attack capabilities ? and in some cases demonstrate a willingness to use them ? suggests that a 'Cyber Cold War' may have already begun," it said.

The company said critical infrastructure was particularly vulnerable, in part because of its reliance on the internet.

? Page 2: Public caught in the crossfire