Officials Warn: Cyber War On the US Has Begun

snydeq writes "Security pros and government officials warn of a possible cyber 9/11 involving banks, utilities, other companies, or the Internet, InfoWorld reports. 'A cyber war has been brewing for at least the past year, and although you might view this battle as governments going head to head in a shadow fight, security experts say the battleground is shifting from government entities to the private sector, to civilian targets that provide many essential services to U.S. citizens. The cyber war has seen various attacks around the world, with incidents such as Stuxnet, Flame, and Red October garnering attention. Some attacks have been against government systems, but increasingly likely to attack civilian entities. U.S. banks and utilities have already been hit.'"

Comments

Re:"Cyber 9/11"

[NFN_NLN]

Really? So we're going to see buildings destroyed, thousands murdered? The hyperbole is way out of hand on this one.

It's all about strategically timed loss of service to exacerbate tensions:

- Disable electricity during a heat wave in Atlanta = Riot
- Disable communications right after a white police officer is acquitted of beating a black suspect in LA = Riot & Looting
- Disable banking/credit card during Black Friday = Riot, people already riot and trample each other in Walmart without a loss of service.

Basically the US is a powder keg... all it takes is a spark :)

US Agencies warning about other US Agencies?

[Spectre]

They are mentioning StuxNet and the like as a threat example? So, the US is in danger of malware created by the US ... perhaps loosing viral code on the world wasn't a good idea.

"We're finding espionage, advanced persistent threats (APTs), and other malware sitting in networks, often for more than a year before it's ever detected," Martinez says.

Now, to "protect" ourselves from our government we need to do what ... turn over more information and control to the people that created the problem? Why would I want to give more power to people that have already proven they can't be trusted with it?

This sounds like nothing more than multi-faceted spin control and manipulation.

What I hear being said:
Look, we need a larger budget to monitor this situation.
And more power to get the information we need without the red tape of actually getting warrants.
For your protection against what we've done, you should just give us all your info, all the time.

Re:"Cyber 9/11"

[vlm]

They're talking about an attack on our civil rights, and they're almost certain to win, just like the bad guys won after 9/11.

Wait for the next innocent convenient disaster. Bank led by crooks and con men goes out of business? Oh you say one foreigner tried identity theft once back in '98? Well that cause and effect is obvious, we need to "temporarily" suspend the constitution until the threat is neutralized aka forever.

Re:"Cyber 9/11"

[girlintraining]

Apparently, banks and utilities have already been hit, and nobody outside of those organizations even noticed. That tells you how much of a non-threat it is.

I can't reveal which financial institution I work for due to company policy regarding social networking, but I can say it is a major one in the United States. Nobody here noticed any "attacks" above and beyond the usual phishing and money laundering crap that comes through every day. Not a peep. Work proceeds as usual. I checked with a few of my friends who have contract gigs at Wall St., and at a nearby state university... none of them have reported anything unusual either.

I appreciate the sentiment, and truly do believe every organization could do to review and update their security and disaster recovery plans. I'm a professional in IT though, of course I'm going to say that; It's good business. However, implying that anything is happening on the networks I manage or that of many others in my profession that could equate to "the next 9/11" is complete hyperbole and, frankly, insulting.