By Shelley Smith

Cyber attackers have been able to infiltrate sophisticated public utility companies and government computer systems. CIA top cyber-security analyst, Tom Donahue, stated at a trade conference in New Orleans that intrusions were made through the Internet and that cyber attackers have hacked into computer systems of foreign utility companies. One case resulted in a power outage affecting multiple cities. The trade conference was attended by 300 U.S. and international security officials from the government and from electric, water, oil and gas companies.

It is still an unknown and under investigation as to who or why these attacks were done. The United States electricity grid continues to be vulnerable to such outages by potential cyber attacks. Cyber extortion is a growing threat that has been coming mainly from outside of the Nation. Each year cyber intrusions have cost an estimated $20 billion worldwide. The speed of malicious cyber attacks have increased dramatically in recent years assaulting the Nation’s information networks and critical infrastructure interdependencies that are composed of both private and public institutions of energy, finance, banking, transportation, telecommunications and human services.

Historically, global critical infrastructures were physically separate systems with little interdependency and operated without a threat. Now the interdependencies and interconnections pose as a threat to society. The attackers are difficult to track due to disguising themselves through multiple computer networks and other means. Presently, they are believed to be launched from computers of foreign government or military.

Now this complex inter-linkage creates a dimension of vulnerability due to the significance of cyber threats and their possible consequences. The National Cyber Response Coordination Group headed by the departments of Justice and Homeland Security have been meeting theses challenges by conducting mock disasters and confronting officials through a “Cyber Storm” war game that tested the nation’s hacker defenses. In February 2006, HLS ran the exercises from a broad list of suggested real-world scenarios with the help from the Pentagon, Justice Department, CIA, National Security Agency and others. Imaginary criminals included hackers, bloggers, reporters and other. Duped simulated reporters were misled into spreading believable but misleading information to worsen the scenario for the public and financial markets to point out where the expectations of capabilities of strengths and weaknesses were. Another war game, “Cyber Storm 2” is planned to take place in March.

Though the exercise had no impact on the real Internet terror experts still remain concerned over Al Qaeda’s increasing present and their use of the internet as a means to spread their message and for recruiting.

Sources:

Department of Homeland Security

U.S. Department of Justice

Transportation Security Administration
Trains, Bloggers are Threat in Drill

Infrastructure Interdependencies and Homeland Security

Progress, Challenges in Securing the Nation's Cyberspace

Shelley Smith is an expert in analysis and research on national and international law, foreign affairs, criminal justice systems and the psychology of criminal behavior. Smith is currently working toward a B.A in Intelligence Studies with a focus on analysis and terrorism at American Military University.