IP: INFORMATION WARFARE

[Dave Farber <farber () central cis upenn edu>]

INFORMATION WARFARE
A report from the U.S. General Accounting Office describing an information
war games exercise developed for the Defense Department by the Rand
Corporation says that more than 120 countries have some form of computer
attack capabilities.  (Atlanta Journal-Constitution 22 Jun 96 F1)
Meanwhile, the FBI's special agent in charge of the San Francisco division
says that in a recent survey of companies, "42% of those who responded said
they'd experienced some unauthorized intrusion into their computer system in
the last 12 months.  Also, it found that 47% of those surveyed felt it could
have been a foreign competitor or foreign government.  We feel that's a very
significant problem, one the FBI is particularly interested in."
(Investor's Business Daily 24 Jun 96 A6)


CRACKING PAYS IN GREAT BRITAIN
A recent issue of the London Sunday Times reports that banks in Great
Britain have been paying hush money to computer crackers who penetrated
their systems, in exchange for their silence about their conquests.
Payments have totaled 400 million pounds ($619 million US) so far, and
victims include the Bank of London.  The crackers reportedly sent encrypted
messages such as, "Now do you believe we can destroy your computers?" and
used "logic bombs," which can be remotely detonated and other sophisticated
information warfare techniques.  (Information Week 10 Jun 96 p32)