By Ingvar Grimsmo ©
September 11, 2001
Publish at will but please include name and http://www.vipinfoservices.com
In the aftermath of today’s NY disaster the question
lingers long after the pain… what is going to happen next? Another violent
terrorist attack? Perhaps. We should be prepared for it. However, There is
another way to cripple America and the rest of the world for that matter.
Think Internet, computers and infrastructure. How dependent are we on bits
and bytes? Very.
You have all read about recent hacking attempts into
Pentagon and other computers. Web sites have been defamed and corporate
secrets have been stolen. But folks, that’s nothing. Mere child’s play.
Anyone with basic computer knowledge can easily get
access to and wreck havoc on a company’s computer. And they do. The majority
of corporations, government agencies and organizations polled recently
admitted to being intruded by either outsiders or insiders. You probably
don’t hear about it, because most of them won’t go public. Heck, they don’t
even tell the cops in most instances. Why? Because fear of bad publicity.
Can you imagine the top bank in the US admitting their computers were hacked
and millions of dollars stolen? They rather keep that one in the dark. And
they do.
What if real terrorists, with the kind of resources
they obviously have to their disposal decide that it would be a good thing
to cripple America’s digital infrastructure? Although, they might think that
that would be too clean. Fewer gory scenes, fewer bloody bodies. Less CNN,
being that press coverage feed their frenzy. Terrorists want attention. Like
little misguided and lonely children. And, they like blood. Bombs work
better that bytes. But wait, these terrorists are getting to be middle age….
And, we all hope - dead in a few weeks.
Perhaps the newer, younger terrorists now in
training will think differently. Maybe they are computer savvy like most
young people these days. Maybe they got out of Harvard with a degree in
computer security.
And can’t wait to unleash their clever viruses and
worms on mainstream America. Take down a hospital’s computer network and see
what happens! Or the FAA’s air traffic control system. When there are
thousands of planes in the air depending on ATC clearances for traffic
avoidance. How about the NY Stock exchange, or the Internet itself? Not so
difficult.
It has been tried several times, but on an amateur
level. Like so many failed terrorist attempts, or so many low level attempts
by amateurs. We all remember our favorite viruses, but let me tell you, if
someone wanted to do real damage – they can. And they will.
Writing destructive programs is not that difficult.
But think about this, if amateurs from the Philippines can write a virus
like “I Love You” can you imagine what a real effort by ruthless terrorists
can do? Maybe we will never know because if that happens we won’t be able to
see it on CNN. They can’t transmit, or use their computers to generate the
videos clips. There will be no Internet, no MSN to go to. There will be no
TV or radio, no telephones. Forget about cell phones, they are all digital.
Cops won’t be able to process emergency calls, they are all handled by
computers.
What is the government doing to prevent such an
attack? What CAN they do? The reality is that we are pretty well on our own.
The government can’t tell us how we should protect out computers. Clinton’s
“National Plan For Infrastructure Protection” is exactly that – a plan. On
paper.
Be prepared.
Ingvar Grimsmo is a free-lance writer, speaker and
software consultant. He has taught computer crime issues to law enforcement
agencies and follows the CyberCrime action as it unfolds throughout the
world.
