[LINK] U.S. not ready for cyber attack

[Bernard Robertson-Dunn]

U.S. not ready for cyber attack
By Randall Mikkelsen
Reuters
Friday, December 19, 2008; 5:03 AM
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/19/AR2008121900580.html?wpisrc=newsletter&wpisrc=newsletter&wpisrc=newsletter

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is unprepared for a major 
hostile attack against vital computer networks, government and industry 
officials said on Thursday after participating in a two-day "cyberwar" 
simulation.

The game involved 230 representatives of government defense and security 
agencies, private companies and civil groups. It revealed flaws in 
leadership, planning, communications and other issues, participants said.

The exercise comes almost a year after President George W. Bush launched 
a cybersecurity initiative which officials said has helped shore up U.S. 
computer defenses but still falls short.
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"There isn't a response or a game plan," said senior vice president Mark 
Gerencser of the Booz Allen Hamilton consulting service, which ran the 
simulation. "There isn't really anybody in charge," he told reporters 
afterward.

Democratic U.S. Rep. James Langevin of Rhode Island, who chairs the 
homeland security subcommittee on cybersecurity, said: "We're way behind 
where we need to be now."

Dire consequences of a successful attack could include failure of 
banking or national electrical systems, he said. "This is equivalent in 
my mind to before September 11 ... we were awakened to the threat on the 
morning after September 11."

Officials cited attacks by Russia sympathizers on Estonia and Georgia as 
examples of modern cyberwarfare, and said U.S. businesses and government 
offices have faced intrusions and attacks.

Billions of dollars must be spent by both government and industry to 
improve security, said U.S. Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger of Maryland, the 
Democratic chairman of the intelligence subcommittee on technical 
intelligence.

The war game simulated a dramatic surge in computer attacks at a time of 
economic vulnerability, and required participants to find ways to 
mitigate the attacks -- using real-life knowledge of tactics and 
procedures where they work.

It was the broadest such exercise in terms of representation across 
government agencies and industrial sectors, officials said.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, addressing the 
participants at the end of the exercise, predicted cyberattacks will 
become a routine warfare tactic to degrade command systems before a 
traditional attack. That is in addition to threats posed by criminal or 
terrorist attackers.

International law and military doctrines need to be updated to deal with 
computer attacks, Chertoff said. "We know that if someone shoots 
missiles at us, they're going to get a certain kind of response. What 
happens if it comes over the Internet?," he said.

Chertoff and Gerencser expressed caution over suggestions earlier this 
month calling for the appointment of a White House "cybersecurity czar" 
to oversee efforts. But Ruppersberger disagreed. One person was needed 
to take charge of efforts and to secure the president's ear, he said.

Ruppersberger said people close to president-elect Barack Obama's 
transition team have convinced him that Obama understands the importance 
of bolstering cybersecurity.

(Reporting by Randall Mikkelsen, editing by Anthony Boadle)

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Regards
brd

Bernard Robertson-Dunn
Canberra Australia
brd at iimetro.com.au