The most infamous example is Stuxnet, a bug so sophisticated that it significantly delayed Iran's nuclear program. The worm, which was likely loaded into the system on a thumb drive, ordered the centrifuges in an Iranian nuclear facility to spin out of control, ultimately destroying it. While that was happening, Stuxnet made all the readings tell Iranian engineers that everything was normal.
"I am here to tell you, and you can quote me, the Stuxnet attack is the Rubicon of our future," said Black. "Physical destruction of a national resource is huge."
It might not just be nations sponsoring these attacks one day, however. Black said Al Qaeda's abilities to launch physical attacks against the United States have largely been neutralized, but the group's potential ability to commit cyber warfare could wreak havoc on our resources.
"The natural inclination for Al Qaeda would be to fall back and enter the cyber world," he argued.
Though nations are unlikely to attack our systems for fear of response from the United States, terrorists wouldn't hesitate. That's a worry, since our government is woefully unprepared for such an event.
"Like the terrorist threat before 9/11, our leaders hear it but they don't believe it," Black said to the room of about 8,500 hackers and security professionals. "We're counting on you. The Code War is your war."
By David Goldman @CNNMoneyTech August 4, 2011: 8:17 AM ET
No comments:
Post a Comment