In the era of networked society, where Internet is the essential part of everyday life, the threats to information systems are coming from all sides and growing in number and complexity.

One of the biggest threats to information security is malicious code, which can spread almost instantly via connected networks, causing damages worth billion dollars. Under this harsh circumstance, AVAR International Conference, which was first held in 1998, has been playing the vital role as the profound information source on the latest trend in computer viruses, Trojan horses and worms, helping worldwide researchers focus on preventing those malicious codes for the common good for the mankind.

AVAR, which stands for ¡°Association of Anti-Virus Asia Researchers,¡± is a non-profit organization with members consisted of information security experts from Asia-Pacific nations and US. The AVAR International Conference is the second biggest anti-virus conference in the world, and every year, the conference is held in a major Asian city. This year¡¯s 5th AVAR International Conference will be held in Seoul, Korea, the home of the 2002 World Cup, and the host of the conference is Ahnlab, Inc.

This year¡¯s AVAR International Conference will be a very exciting and resourceful event because this year¡¯s guest speakers are very talented people who were carefully selected out of many candidates who applied from as many as 16 nations. To researchers, security professionals and other interest groups, the 5th AVAR International Conference will provide possibly the best opportunity to learn about the latest anti-virus technology and discuss the major issues on worldwide information security technology.

The dream of building a robust information society can become a reality only when information security is guaranteed, and I believe, the 5th AVAR International Conference will be the small yet meaningful step toward that dream. As the host of 5th AVAR International Conference, Ahnlab along with AVAR invite you to Seoul, Korea. Come and be the proud part of anti-virus history. Thank you.

Charles Ahn.
CEO, Ahnlab, Inc.
the host 5th AVAR International Conference,