The NY Times: Cyber War in the News
The NY Times: Cyber War in the News
Feb 8, 2010
John Markoff, David E. Sanger and Thom Shanker’s story “In Digital Combat, U.S. Finds No Easy Deterrent” at The New York times offers a sobering view on the state of cyber security in the US. The article recounts the details of a simulated cyber attack against US infrastructure on Jan 11. The would-be attacker had many advantages: stealth, anonymity, and unpredictability. The defenders had many challenges: no way to retaliate without knowing who was attacking, no legal authority to respond, and no way of determining whether the attack was vandalism, industrial espionage, or state-sponsored cyber terrorism—each of which would require a different response.
The article also notes the similarity of this simulation with the recent real-world cyber attack against Google that was traced to the Chinese. It also noted that Google broke the silence that usually surrounds security breaches. Most organizations are reluctant to admit that they were vulnerable to attack.
Some people are depressed by articles that openly discuss the threat of hacking, and how many large corporations and government organizations are not capable of defending themselves against a cyber attack. But I’m encouraged: only through more openness and more discussion about the very real cyber security challenges that the world faces will there be progress toward securing cyber space.
—Jim Herbeck
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