http://www.ottawacitizen.com/technology/Cyber+terrorism+proving+uphill+b\ attle/3850531/story.html <http://www.ottawacitizen.com/technology/Cyber+terrorism+proving+uphill+\ battle/3850531/story.html> Cyber terrorism is proving an uphill battle By Claudine Beaumont, The Daily Telegraph November 18, 2010 4:04 PM
Mystery may surround some aspects of the latest apparent "cyber attack" against web users, but one thing is becoming abundantly clear - the threat of cyber terrorism is a very clear and present danger for governments and organisations around the world. While full-body scanners and military partnerships with other nations might help to protect us from the physical threat of terrorism, cyber warfare presents a unique challenge for nation states. The fluid and evolving nature of the Internet, and the rapid development of technologies, means it is near impossible to monitor precisely what is happening online, and to mitigate against all potential threats. There is growing evidence that a number of countries are dipping their toes in the waters of cyber terrorism, with what appear to be state-sanctioned hacks of websites and systems, and sophisticated attempts to breach the cyber defences of key organisations. China, for all its protestations of innocence, is a cause for particular concern. Earlier this year, Google's email servers were attacked by Chinese hackers in an effort to access the accounts of human rights activists. China has a notoriously fractious relationship with the web, attempting to censor and control access to potentially subversive websites by using the "Great Firewall of China" to block inappropriate web traffic, while still attempting to embrace the benefits the web brings for e-commerce and global business. Cyber terrorism need not mean infecting military computers with a virus that could launch scores of rockets; a more likely and insidious threat is to banking systems or financial services, which could be corrupted by malicious software and have a cataclysmic knock-on effect on a region's economy. There is no evidence that China Telecoms' apparent diversion of Internet traffic via its servers had any sinister edge to it. But, much in the same way as Russia sends its bombers on frequent sorties close to British airspace to probe at the country's defences and provide a show of strength, so too it is increasingly likely that hackers, whether actively sanctioned or simply not discouraged by their governments, are testing the robustness of our cyber defences. Governments and security experts face an uphill battle to keep them out. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [email protected]. -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [email protected] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [email protected] Unsubscribe: [email protected] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtmlYahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
