- Friday, 27 November 2009
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And the souls mounting up to God, Went by her like thin flames - Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Cyber terrorism is a storm in a teacup
DESPITE DARK FEARS that terrorists are about to blow up the Internet, the chances of cyber terrorism are about as likely as the publication of a romantic comedy written by Dick Cheney.
A report with the catchy title The 'Korean' Cyber Attacks and Their Implications for Cyber Conflicts by a Washington policy think-tank said terrorist groups were simply not up to the task and most cyber attacks that have been carried out were too minor to worry about.
James Lewis of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, who penned the report, looked at the recent Korean attacks, which many commentators have speculated originated in North Korea.
While there was no proof of that, Lewis looked at whether the attacks constituted an act of war and whether they could have been the work of a terrorist group.
He said that there was no chance that either was the case, as the July event was not a serious attack and was more like a noisy demonstration.
The attackers used basic technology and didn't do any real damage. So far the world has yet to see a serious cyber attack, he said.
It is fairly clear terrorist groups lack the capabilities to launch a cyber attack otherwise they would have used them by now.
Lewis said that one day terrorist groups might be able to launch an attack but that is a few years away yet.
There is a lag of three and eight years between the capabilities developed by advanced intelligence agencies and the capabilities available for purchase or rental in the cybercrime black market.
This means that in less than a decade a terrorist group could enter the cybercrime black market and acquire the capabilities needed for a serious cyber attack.
He warned that the US dependence on digital technology makes it somewhat more vulnerable to cyber attacks than other nations. µ
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"There is a lag of three and eight years between the capabilities developed by advanced intelligence agencies and the capabilities available for purchase or rental in the cybercrime black market."
Nick,
That may or may not be the case depending upon one solo thing ..... whether advanced intelligence agencies purchase available capabilities .... which would be akin to them paying Danegeld, but even so, it would be worth every red cent given the losses and damage that can so easily be wrought remotely from the Space which is dismissed so lightly as being so very unlikely, for it may be, and is, a catastrophic arrogance to imagine that advanced intelligence agencies have a monopoly and future lead on advanced intelligence.
But it is really nothing to worry about, because such monies as would be paid are a valuable internal investment whenever it can also reveal the Achilles Heels which will bring Systems and the System crashing to the ground.
One of the duties for an "Intelligence Service" is the dissemination of disinformation.
While the US "Project Blue Book" was investigating UFO claims they were simultaneously disparaging reported speeds and accelerations. Then when the specs for the stealth fighter were revealed it seen to be quite capable of the behaviour reported and it became obvious that some of the "UFO" claims were in fact accidental civilian observations of experimental aircraft. (Of course, most of the claims ARE still from loonies... )
There is definitely a lag, and the larger you can keep it, the greater the advantage for you...if you really think you know everything your own military is capable of, then either their intelligence has failed, or yours has...
I agree, Jamie.