Targeting Our Computers

Why is cyber security important? It’s a question the high-technology industry has asked itself again and again over the past few years. To some, the very phrase has a sci-fi unreality to it. But an event such as the massive power failure that struck much of the northeastern United States yesterday shows just how very real the issue is. For whether or not terrorism was involved (at this writing there is no indication it was) and whatever problems with computers may have been involved, this incident shows clearly how vulnerable our highly technical society is to disruption of such complex systems as the power grid. Cyber security is a problem that if not handled properly can dramatically affect millions of our citizens and undermine core institutions of our society just as effectively as a weapon of mass destruction. To the surprise of no one who has watched how adversaries continue to probe our vulnerabilities, U.S. intelligence officials last year discovered an al Qaeda safe house in Pakistan devoted solely to training people for computer hacking and cyber warfare. Calling it a “cyber academy,” intelligence officials said al Qaeda operatives gathered information and expertise on the automated systems that control U.S. infrastructure, such as dams and power grids. Full Story