The results of the Cyber Shockwave simulation that the Bipartisan Policy Center conducted earlier this week came as no SHOCK to most security professionals that have really been involved in analysis of cyber warfare, cyber terrorism and cyber crime. This event has brought the badly needed attention this threat needs and deserves.
Many are sitting back picking apart and finding fault with some of the details of the scenario rather than using this for what it is another WAKE UP CALL! All this occurring as one security firm disclosed a new BotNet with more than 75,000 computer systems at nearly 2,500 companies in the United States and around the world have been hacked in what appears to be one of the largest and most sophisticated attacks we have experienced to date.
Given the U.S. dependence on computers, the Internet and the entire information infrastructure, our adversaries see our vulnerability to acts of cyber aggression as our soft under-belly and that makes it a prime target in their eyes. In the cyber domain, the time with which a cyber attack evolves is several times faster than traditional attacks. While the participating officials sat there and scratched their heads, the situation worsened and quickly evolved to the point of disaster.
Why is it that the U.S. has a tendency on waiting too long until after something happens and then responds? Given the widespread publicity this exercise has gained, we can only hope government leaders, corporate executives, law enforcement, industry and our military will pull together and collaborate across traditional boundaries and protect the digital assets of our nation.
