Info war or electronic saber rattling?

[mea culpa <jericho () DIMENSIONAL COM>]

From: darek.milewski () us pwcglobal com

Info war or electronic saber rattling?
By Kevin Poulsen, ZDNN
September 8, 1999 6:01 PM PT
URL: http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2330904,00.html

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The threat of attacks on civilian and government
computer networks by rogue nations and terrorist groups is growing as the
United States becomes increasingly wired, defense officials and a U.S.
Congressman said Wednesday.

Speaking at the InfowarCon conference to a crowd of uniformed military
personal, corporate IT managers, computer security consultants and at
least one screenwriter, Rep. Curt Weldon, R-Pa., of the House Armed
Services Committee placed "cyberterrorism" at the top of his list of
modern threats to the American way of life.

"In my opinion, neither missile proliferation nor weapons of mass
destruction are as serious as the threat you are here to discuss," Weldon
said.

Weldon warned that civilian infrastructure, including air traffic control
systems, communications networks and computer controlled subways could all
be vulnerable from cyberspace.

"If I want to wreak havoc on a society that, in some cases, has become
complacent, I am going to attack your quality of life," Weldon said.

[snip..]