Slashdot Mirror
Final Report: Pan-European Cyber Security Exercise
Orome1 writes "The EU's cyber security agency, ENISA, has issued its final report (PDF) on the first Pan-European cyber security exercise for public bodies, Cyber Europe 2010. The exercise was conducted on the 4th of November, 2010. Its objective was to trigger communication and collaboration between countries in the event of large-scale cyber-attacks. Over 70 experts from the participating public bodies worked together to counter over 300 simulated hacking attacks aimed at paralyzing the Internet and critical online services across Europe. During the exercise, a simulated loss of Internet connectivity between the countries took place, requiring cross-border cooperation to avoid a (simulated) total network crash."
From TFP(df): "The most common difficulties faced [..] were [...] busy phone lines."
uh, what? They should defend us from The Evil(tm) and can't even get other stake holders on the fscking phone?
I read Paulos' "Innumeracy" book and never quite understood how those security people come up with cost figures for cyber attacks... especially when it's in the billions range e.g. Skynews reports "Last year, cyber attacks cost Britain £27bn. The global hub for targeted attacks is China. An estimated 1.6 billion attacks are launched from the country each month."
then use HF two-way radio,
why the focus on computers with internet connectivity as the only source of communication?
Politics is Treachery, Religion is Brainwashing
it's a security issue, as .gov seems to get its' p's & q's all confused with its' borg like 'business' plan, drawing ire from other commerce oriented world citizens. implementation begins immediately, so we're up & running after the weapons peddlers are all gone very soon. on to baylon. mostly search & rescue.
While it sounds like a good idea, the impression that I got after reading the report was that this was hardly real-world and more security theater. Using phone/email to communicate when you are having major national communications problems?. Also some key members didn't seem to be playing (eg Spain)
This sound more like the task for a centralized organization that coordinates and works with key agencies in each member state.
What we need now is a Corporate News CIDR Blacklist.
next thing you know, we're into gunrunning, eugenetics, all form of crazy hoodinistic holycost stuff. a little harsh, but our incestuous uncle sam is obviously mighty thirsty, & pushy too. &, there's rumours that the king IS an inbred altered fink. with 'partners' like that, who needs enemies? read the etchings. disarm
Over 70 wannabe experts from the participating public bodies worked together to counter over 300 out of a 80000 possible simulated hacking attacks aimed at paralyzing the Internet and critical online services across Europe...... .....and then they all got dossed......
"Paralyze teh intertubes" (sigh). Hello - this is the 21st century. If you haven't woken up to the SQL injection attacks and other stuff a while back that r.a.p.e.d many websites run by naive suckers, then hell - enjoy the chaos
Don't need to think black hat - if the United Nations, US Dept of homeland (in)secure(ity) etc. can be compromised by injected SQL then maybe the frail should hide in a room and play a saxophone (Gene Hackman for you slashdot gurus)
A couple of years ago we lost most of the internet connectivity from Attika Greece because one idiot backhoed *all* the critical fibre optic cables
(big hint on the white hat side - real attacks would have *minimal* apparent footprint)
As a P.S., I've just had the fun of watching the local council dudes here figure out that the reason there has been no streetlights up Lycabettus Hill is that someone did an "African" pull all the copper out of the ground - so far they've taken 4 days to fix one chain of lights. (Happiness is watching other people at work - shame it took them 5-6 months to start fixing it). I was tempted to mutter something about TDR, but not sure it works with "big cables"
(Still: I had the pleasure of watching Collared Flycatchers on their way north stopping over for a while)
Andy
As an American I think this is a bad idea. Mainly because it's something happening in Europe, but also because it's not happening in America.
I wonder why "pan" was in the project's title but didn't get included in the name of the agency?
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
First, define 'crash the internet', then define precisely why going without the internet renders an entire continent incapable of meeting its basic needs, and *then*, perhaps, we can discuss the issues rather than why this is a piece of random pop reporting drivel.
Just for the record: This was purely a communication exercise. The scenario was just an excuse to get people to talk to each other. Technical realism was not a goal in this exercise.
One can argue whether the assumptions on the availability of the PSTN was warranted or not, but given the fact that a good number of the involved teams had no direct contact prior to this exercise, this exercise was a worthwhile first step.
The Combine has been doing Exercise K runs non-stop. The Pansies are going down!