THE NEXT THREAT TO NATIONAL SECURITY – 6/2/09

While everyone is concentrating on North Korea, Iran, and Pakistan as being the next threat to the US and it’s allies, little or no attention is being given to our other enemies hiding in the backdrop of our networks.  Hacking attempts to US networks have dramatically risen in the last few years and with less emphasis being put on network security and more emphasis being put on getting everyone online and more speed, we are now more than ever poised for our first Attack on US networks similar to those of 9/11 in New York.

At present, hackers have infiltrated our networks and are hiding in the backdrops of users personal computers gathering information like that of a spy but on a different level.  Imagine a spy on every corner of every street of every city in the US just waiting for the command to release the troops for an all out war.  Just like the movie, Independence Day, we have been infiltrated and they are just waiting for the right moment to attack. 

Most users rely on their ISP to protect them not realizing that the ISP cannot protect them because they are limited by what they can and cannot block either due to politics or privacy laws.  Hackers have masqueraded themselves by sharing files that are illegal, sending worms that exploit the popular windows operating systems, and phishing for anything and everything known possible.  But even more dangerous, hackers have their own websites that are mysteriously guiding people over to them, setting a trap and once the bait has been taken, the hacker has just captured the computer.  Once captured the network is left in a vulnerable state, waiting for the right moment, the right time to send in the troops.  Why haven’t the computer terrorists gone in for the kill?

How do we stop it?  The simplest way is to block it at the heart.  What I mean is there are major backbones to the Internet in the US.  I would say about one dozen backbones.  See http://www.internetpulse.com   In the same way the military’s model works, so should the civilian network model work.  The military through its network agency DISA currently is charged with ensuring that military networks in the US and abroad are protected, and they do a good job.  They do this by ensuring security is looked at from the very heart or the entry point.  The same concept should work in the Civilian Sector if the US Government owned the networks.  What I am really saying here is that the Federal Government needs to create a Department of Cyber Security, take over the civilian networks, Federalize the Internet, and start enforcing security throughout this country.  I am not saying that I believe this should happen, but what I am saying is that the only way to stop a future coordinated attack on our cyber infrastructure is through drastic measures.  I don’t think a federal Government takeover will ever happen, so take your seat, be prepared, and watch, as we are more than ever in a vulnerable state to be attacked. 

If and when we are attacked, I believe that it will be a coordinated attack on our telecommunications infrastructure, which could also hurt the Military.  Remember the Military uses the same hard lines that the Civilians use, except they do not own any of the hard lines throughout this country.  They have simply created private virtual lines that run parallel with the civilian lines.  So the question becomes what are the hacker terrorists waiting for?  Could it be they are waiting for a firesail?  A firesail is a computer attack in which communications, power, and utilities are disabled all at the same time.  A firesail would be easier than sending fighters and bombers to every US City.  Besides, we would fight back!  With a firesail, the only thing you need is a coordinated effort for the attack, about 20%-30% of the computers carrying out the commands, and whatever you are attacking must have an infected computer on the same network that is connected to the Internet or be on the same subnet.  At the same time the firesail is occurring, terrorists could also carry out a physical attack on the US, which could permanently damage our Country when combined with the firesail.  Will it happen?  Who knows, but we need to understand that these things are very possible and we should all take responsibility by keeping our computers up-to-date with Operating System Updates, ensure we have Malware/Spyware programs installed, and finally, ensure that our computers have an anti-virus program that is kept up-to-date on a weekly basis.

Albert Catanach