http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/03/10/cyber_storm_ii_exercises/
By Dan Goodin in San Francisco
The Register
10th March 2008
Business and government leaders from the US, UK and three other
countries will spend much of this week simulating and defending against
a large-scale cyber attack in an exercise designed to strengthen
coordinated responses to what many perceive as a growing threat.
Participants of Cyber Storm II, which also include about 40
private-sector companies, will enact a scenario in which "persistent,
fictitious adversaries" launch an extended attack using websites, email,
phones, faxes and other communications systems. Other countries involved
are Australia, New Zealand and Canada.
Cyber Storm II comes two weeks after the Pentagon released an assessment
of China's military might, warning the People's Liberation Army was
intent on expanding its capabilities for cyber warfare. It also comes
amid intelligence reports that utilities in several countries have
sustained cyber attacks that caused power outages.
This week's exercises are a follow up to Cyber Storm I, which was
completed two years ago. They are mandated by an act of Congress that
requires the public and private sectors to strengthen cyber
preparedness.
Companies including Cisco, Juniper Networks, Dow Chemical, Air Products
& Chemical and Wachovia are participating. Nine US states and at least
18 federal agencies are also involved. They represent the chemical,
information technology, communications and transportation industries,
which are considered ctritical parts of the infrastructure. The US
Department of Homeland Security is hosting the event - no doubt with
danishes and plenty of Starbucks coffee.
The exercises are designed to sharpen and assess participants' ability
to respond to a multi-day, coordinated attack and better understand the
"cascading effects" such attacks can have.
Results of Cyber Storm I pointed the the need for better coordination
between various agencies and for a common framework for communicating
among different parties.
While it's not necessarily a bad idea to simulate imagined threats,
there's no indication that participants will delve into actual practices
that are known to put national security at risk. For example, last week
came word that a private website operator regularly received official
Air Force communications containing sensitive information because his
email address was similar to those of military leaders. Additionally, a
Pentagon official has now confirmed that an attack last year on a
network belonging to the Department of Defense involved a Windows
vulnerability and allowed the intruders to steal "an amazing amount" of
data.
As these episodes make clear, sometimes we can be our own worst enemy,
no simulation necessary. ®
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