DoD and Cyber-Terrorism Eric Fritch CPSC 620

What is cyber-terrorism? "The premeditated, politically motivated attack against information, computer systems, computer programs, and data which result in violence against noncombatant targets by sub-national groups or clandestine agents". -FBI "The use of computer network tools to shut down critical national infrastructure (such as energy, transportation, government operations) or to coerce or intimidate a government or civilian population".-Center for Strategic/Int’l Studies

Types Denial of Service Distributed Denial of Service Exploit Tools Logic Bombs Phishing Sniffer Trojan Horse Virus Vishing War Driving Worm Zero-Day Exploit

The cyber threat As our nations critical infrastructure becomes more reliant on computer networks in order to operate, there is an increased concern that these are desired targets. Examples Electric Power System Water Supply System Air Traffic Control Systems Healthcare Systems

Why cyber threats? Cyber terrorist prefer using the cyber attack methods because of many advantages for it. It is Cheaper than traditional methods. The action is very Difficult to be tracked. There are no physical barriers or check points to cross. They can hide their personalities and location. They can use this method to attack a big number of targets. They can do it remotely from anywhere in the world. They can affect a large number of people.

Cyber-terrorism Examples Started about mid1990s around the time of the internet boom : Web site set up for Zapatistas, a Mexican rebel group, to lead attacks against U.S. military from 1,500 locations in 50 different countries : NATO computers are blasted with bombs and hit with denial-of-service attacks by hacktivists protesting the bombings in Kosovo : Assassins hack into a hospital computer to change the medication of a patient so that he would be given a lethal injection. He was dead within a few hours.

Who Defends Us? U.S. Strategic Command - Responsibilities for information operations (such as information warfare), missile defense, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, and combating weapons of mass destruction. U.S. Cyber Command – Responsible for protecting DoD information networks and the cyberspace infrastructure as well as supporting weapons system platforms from disruptions, intrusions and attacks.

Expanding the Cyber Fight Thousands of qualified people will be needed over the next couple of years. In addition to the Cyber Command, the following organizations are seeking qualified personnel. NSA, Cyber Crime Center, AF. Incident handling; malware/vulnerability analysis; cyber risk and strategic analysis; cyber vulnerability detection and assessment; intelligence analysis; cyber incident response and network and system engineering.

President’s Plan The presidents administration has declared use of the DoD’s cyber warfare capabilities on vital U.S. networks, not just DoD networks. The system would act almost identical to how FEMA would operate in a time of a natural disaster such as a hurricane flood. The Department of Homeland Security will also assist in the process.

Questions?

References Kathryn Stephens. Cyber-related Government Jobs. 2 Aug Nov GAO. Types Of Cyber Attacks. 5 May Nov Matson Breakey. Cyber-Terrorism: Its Origins and Impacts. 7 Mar, Nov Dr. Mudawi Mukhtar Elmusharaf. Cyber Terrorism : The new kind of Terrorism. 4 Apr Nov