According to the FBI, terrorism can be defined as "the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.
Cyber-terrorism could thus be defined as the use of computing resources to intimidate or coerce others. An example of cyber-terrorism could be hacking into a hospital computer system and changing someone's medicine prescription to a lethal dosage as an act of revenge. It sounds far fetched, but these things can and do happen."
The question being asked around the world is whether this week's 'Blaster' attack was terrorist inspired. We might never know. But regardless, the attack is a wake-up call to everyone who cares about peace and security in the world.
It is interesting to note that in response to heightened awareness of the potential for cyber-terrorism President Clinton, in 1996, created the Commission of Critical Infrastructure Protection. The board found that the combination of electricity, communications and computers are necessary to the survival of the U.S., all of which can be threatened by cyber-warfare. The resources to launch a cyber attack are commonplace in the world; a computer and a connection to the Internet are all that is really needed to wreak havoc.
Adding to the problem is that the public and private sectors are relatively ignorant of just how much their lives depend on computers as well as the vulnerability of those computers. Another problem with cyber crime is that the crime must be solved, (i.e. who were the perpetrators and where were they when they attacked you) before it can be decided who has the actual authority to investigate the crime. The board recommends that critical systems should be isolated from outside connection or protected by adequate firewalls, use best practices for password control and protection, and use protected action logs.
The revolution in global communications – as epitomised and exemplified by the Internet and the worldwide web – has brought with it untold economic, social, cultural and political benefits.
But, too, this great change in the way people communicate has brought with it extraordinary challenges. Highest on the list are those coming under the rubric, cyber-terrorism.
In recent days home computer users got blasted by the Internet "worm" called Blaster on Wednesday as they struggled to apply a fix that office technicians handled easily, even as several experts said a new variant had emerged.
What this episode abundantly illustrates is that the world is increasingly one place, therefore vulnerable to challenge by those who would disrupt its operation.
At this stage in the investigation into the matter, it is still not clear whether 'Blaster' was terrorist inspired.
Editorial, The Bahama Journal
