Economic warfare enters the cyber-age

[InfoSec News <isn () c4i org>]

http://www.vnunet.com/News/1136448

By Cath Everett 
[31-10-2002]

Tech-savvy terrorists start using the web for sabotage
 
The internet could become the latest weapon in the arsenal of
increasingly technically sophisticated terrorist groups, ushering in a
new age of economic warfare.

Addressing delegates at the Compsec security show in London this week,
Brian Jenkins, special advisor to the US International Chamber of
Commerce, warned that terrorists already use the internet to
communicate with each other and to obtain and provide information and
disinformation.

They deface or take down sites that hold opposing views and may even
be reconnoitring network and system vulnerabilities via the internet,
he said.

While Jenkins sees cyber-terrorism as a mainly theoretical risk,
reports indicate that terrorists are increasingly starting to use the
web for sabotage purposes.

And the threat of this will increase as society becomes more reliant
on internet-based systems.

"Over time, terrorists may become more like hackers and hackers may
become more like terrorists," he said during his keynote speech.

"Most terrorists still seem to prefer bombs and bloodshed, but
increasingly they're recognising that a combination of attacks is more
efficient in economic warfare."

The most likely threats are shutting down key systems such as air
traffic control, and unleashing extended denial of service attacks to
parts of a critical infrastructure such as the national grid.

Another means could be corrupting data in, for example, banking
systems causing people to lose confidence, while a so-called 'forced
multiplier' attack would see terrorists undertaking physical and cyber
attacks concurrently to magnify any potential damage.

Alan Brill, senior managing director at consultant Kroll Associates,
picked up the theme during his speech. He insisted that organisations
must secure all assets, whether physical or technological, if their
security policies are to be effective.

"At least 75 per cent of the companies we looked at had no formal
relationship between physical and IT security, but that's become
unacceptable and dangerous to the corporation and it cannot be allowed
to continue," he said.



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