Shrieking in Cyberspace
Sometimes stories like this don't even make it onto my radar screen for over a year. This is an interesting an humorous article. Unfortunately, they reduce the level of credibility associated with those that would counter that cyberterorrism is not an issue by including comments from folks like Friedman. I haven't seen George Friedman out conducting technical vulnerability assessments of the critical infrastructures, yet he feels comfortable discrediting comments as storytelling. I'll agree a lot of the discussion regarding cyberterrorism is over-hyped and if you actually see me present, you'd understand that one of the first things I do is discredit what is written in the media about the topic. However, we need to find a balance between ignoring the issue and over-hyping it and it seems that very few are willing to step into that middle ground. Here is the article...
"Winn Schwartau was standing in the shower of his suburban Nashville home one morning 13 years ago when he was visited, he says, by a vision. It was a vision of the future, a vivid and terrifying image of a high-tech apocalypse.
He saw terrorists with keyboards, unleashing swarms of computer viruses into cyberspace. He saw gangs of foreign mercenaries hacking computerized banking systems and tipping the Western economic system into chaos. He saw religious fanatics gaining access to electric power grids and triggering mass blackouts. He saw sewage treatment plants overflowing, life-support machines sputtering, bridges falling, planes crashing. "
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Risk of cyber terrorism raised at seminar
A terrorism expert hosted by the Centre for Defence Studies believes cyber space could be the next target for terrorist organisations.
Founding director and CEO of the Terrorist Research Centre at Burke, Virginia, Matthew Devost believes cyber terrorists, individuals and organisations using computers, the Internet and electronic communication devices for their activities, are likely to form the next major threat to security.
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Bush's Cyberstrategery: The administration's war against a bogus threat.
That's the title of an editorial on Slate.com discussing cyberterrorism. It has been forwarded to me by several friends indicating that I should respond. I just don't have the bandwidth for a formal response and this angle has already been addressed in several of my articles including "Taking Cyberterrorism Seriously" by Neal Pollard and myself. Skepticism is healthy, but failing to account for legitimate emerging threats can also be dangerous. The slate article dwells on old stories and scenarios and fails to address the fact that our infrastructures are increasingly operated and controled by technology, that technology is inherently vulnerable and that creates a window of opportunity for someone or some entity with the right combination of intent and capability to launch an attack of consequence. Remember, attacks of consequence aren't planes crashing or stock markets going off-line. The attacks can be much more subtle and still have a political coercive or economic impact.
From Slate:
"Seemingly innocuous movies occasionally have nasty, unintended consequences. Jaws creator Peter Benchley, for example, believes his tale of underwater mayhem has driven mankind to hunt several lethal shark species to the brink of extinction. Jodie Foster's bawdy turn in Taxi Driver helped stir would-be Reagan assassin John Hinckley Jr. to violence. And the 1983 Matthew Broderick vehicle WarGames convinced everyone that a lone hacker can wipe out the West Coast as easily as booting up Excel. Full Story."
Europe warned of cyber terrorism if Iraq is attacked
An international cyber establishment has warned Europe of a possible attack of cyber terrorism in case war against Iraq breaks out. Such cyber terrorism and possible hacking of networks may put in jeopardy key European infrastructures such as water, electricity and transport, according to sources. Full Story
Indian Information Warfare Agency Established
In a bid to counter Pakistani propaganda as well as frame policies for cyber-wars, the armed forces have all plans to expand the ambit of Defence Intelligence Agency by setting up an information warfare agency under the tri-service Integrated Defence Staff headquarters. Designated as the Defence Information Warfare Agency (DIWA), it will provide the military's inputs to the National Information Board being set up under National Security Advisor Brajesh Mishra. DIWA will handle all aspects of information warfare, including psychological operations, cyberwar, electro-magnetic spectrum and soundwaves. While efforts have been made by the three services separately, DIWA will be the nodal agency that will make policies for all the three services as well as formulate counter-measures to enemy propaganda. While DIWA was to be headed by a three-star officer, it has now been placed under the operational control of the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA). DIA has been angling to be the sole intelligence provider from the three services to the Government. Already holding stock of all technical intelligence gathering equipment, DIA was considered a logical choice to take charge of DIWA. Full Story
Windows XP Kills Dog, Steals Toaster
Tim Mullen has an excellent editorial at SecurityFocus.com discussing media hype associated with recent vulnerability disclosures. Worth the read. Full Story
Homeland Security Summit Keynote
I will be delivering a keynote address at the Homeland Security Summit on March 6, 2003. More details
This Gun For Hire
The suburbs of Washington, from Alexandria in the south to Dulles Airport in the west, make up the defense industry's fertile crescent.
Within a short drive of the Pentagon, the CIA, and the rest of the national security state, one immaculate office park after another rises above the oleander, gleaming facades capped with muscular logos - Raytheon, TRW, Bechtel. It's the neighborhood of choice for the nation's military contractors. Full Story
Electronic attack slows Internet
Traffic on the many parts of the Internet slowed dramatically for hours early Saturday, the apparent effects of a fast-spreading, virus-like infection that overwhelmed the world's digital pipelines and interfered with Web browsing and delivery of e-mail. Sites monitoring the health of the Internet reported significant slowdowns globally. Experts said the electronic attack bore remarkable similarities to the "Code Red" virus during the summer of 2001 which also ground traffic to a halt on much of the Internet. Full Story
Total Misrepresentation (of Total Information Awareness)
"The chance that the U.S. government will become a police state because it is better able to analyze private transactions for signs of terrorism is virtually nil; the chance would be greater, however, if the country were to experience a series of devastating attacks and confidence in the government's ability to protect the public safety were to evaporate." Full Story