Starting an International Cybersecurity Conversation

crimeandpunishment writes "Every government in the world is dealing with cybercrime, but they're all doing it on their own. In the context of 'cyberwar' saber-rattling on all sides, getting governments to share information is a challenge. But an international security conference this week in Dallas is aimed at doing just that — even if only on an informal basis."

Comments

Re:Imaginary problem

[TubeSteak]

You didn't RTFA did you.

Underscoring the threats: recent attacks on Google Inc. that caused the Internet search leader to move its search engine out of mainland China, and the revelation last year that spies hacked into the U.S. electric grid and left behind computer programs that would let them disrupt service.

There's one concrete example of cyberwarfare.
I'm not even going to bother with the rest of your post.
There's just too much ignorance and "it hasn't happened yet, so it won't" thinking.

Re:Imaginary problem

[ehinojosa]

You're wrong. See Russia's cyberwars on Estonia (2nd story) and Georgia.

Re:Imaginary problem

[davester666]

Well, it entirely depends on how much of the grid they would have control of and what kind of control they could gain. If this gave them control over how generators operated, or how nuclear plants operated, or how hydro-electric dams operated, then they could potentially cause floods, damage to the plant itself [by say, overdriving the plant] or just something like what happened in the Northeast US/Canada, where a small grid failure killed power to a fairly large number of people for a significant amount of time. Do this at the right time, like in the middle of summer or winter, and the potential for a significant number of deaths goes up rather quickly.

Re:Imaginary problem

[JWSmythe]

    You should try to live in some of the harsh weather states, like Florida.

    When I was a kid, we'd experience up to 12 hours of power outages about once a month. If it was night time, the most chaos was to look to see if the neighbors lights were on.

    During (and after) hurricanes, it's a given that you will probably expect a prolonged power outage. People get along fine without the need of electricity. You'll find both LEOs and civilians directing traffic at busy intersections. You'll even find people helping out with anything they can. I've helped move large trees out of the road and off of houses with little more than a pickup truck, chains, a few helpful people, and a little effort.