[LINK] Milnet rides again

[Roger Clarke]

[The dullards in the US military have discovered that connecting 
important equipment to the open, public Internet is a bad idea.  They 
even think they've invented a new idea - that dedicated networks and 
air-gaps contribute to security.]


FBI Official Calls for Secure, Alternate Internet

October 21, 2011
Associated Press|by Lolita C. Baldor
Military.com News
http://www.military.com/news/article/fbi-official-calls-for-secure-alternate-internet.html?ESRC=dod.nl

BALTIMORE -- The computer networks that control power plants and 
financial systems will never be secure enough and a new, highly 
secure alternative Internet should be considered for development, a 
top FBI official said Thursday.

Shawn Henry, the FBI's executive assistant director, said critical 
systems are under increasing threat from terror groups looking to buy 
or lease the computer skills and malware needed to launch a cyber 
attack.

In an Associated Press interview Thursday, Henry said jihadist 
militants looking to harm the U.S. can tap organized crime groups who 
are willing to sell their services and abilities to attack computer 
systems. He would not say which terror group or whether any insurgent 
networks have actually been able to acquire the high-tech 
capabilities.

But he said one way to protect critical utility and financial systems 
would be to set up a separate, highly secure Internet.

Henry sketched out the Internet idea to a crowd at a conference of 
the International Systems Security Association, saying that 
cyberthreats will always continue to evolve and outpace efforts to 
defend networks against them.

"We can't tech our way out of the cyberthreat," Henry said. "The 
challenge with the Internet is you don't know who's launching the 
attack." A key step, he said, would be to develop networks where 
anonymity is not an option and only known and trusted employees have 
access.

The vulnerabilities of critical systems such as power plants, the 
electric grid or Wall Street were a prime topic during the 
conference, reflecting growing concerns by U.S. officials.

Government security officials say cyber attackers are using the 
Internet to steal money, ferret out classified secrets and technology 
and disturb or destroy important infrastructure, from the electrical 
grid and telecommunications networks to nuclear power plants and 
transportation systems.

[more waffle follows]


-- 
Roger Clarke                                 http://www.rogerclarke.com/
			            
Xamax Consultancy Pty Ltd      78 Sidaway St, Chapman ACT 2611 AUSTRALIA
                    Tel: +61 2 6288 1472, and 6288 6916
mailto:Roger.Clarke at xamax.com.au                http://www.xamax.com.au/

Visiting Professor in the Cyberspace Law & Policy Centre      Uni of NSW
Visiting Professor in Computer Science    Australian National University