Electronic Pearl Harbor : How vulnerable is our interlinked infrastructure

1
Electronic Pearl Harbor How vulnerable is our
interlinked infrastructure

• Sai Kumaar. V
• SU- ID 29188-8982
• 11/20/2001

2
Introduction

• The government's evidence about U.S.
  vulnerability to cyber attack is shaky at
  best.Information warfare The term conjures up a
  vision of unseen enemies, armed only with laptop
  personal computers connected to the global
  computer network, launching untraceable
  electronic attacks against the United States.
  Blackouts occur nationwide, the digital
  information that constitutes the national
  treasury is looted electronically, telephones
  stop ringing, and emergency services become
  unresponsive.

• But, is such a thing possible?
• The only basis on which we have to judge that at
  the moment is the sketchy information provided by
  the government. But the government is not going
  to disclose too sensitive info.
• Will the private sectors disclose? No.

3
Study Hoaxes

• There are many hoaxes and myths on information
  warfare from official reports to newspaper
  stories.
• Result confusion over what is real and what is
  not.
• Article on Computer Crime in FBIs Law and
  Enforcement
• ( Dec 96) Clinton Virus People who read were
  new to the subject and took it seriously.
• Hoaxes have propagated much more successfully.
• Penpal greetings and antivirus software.

4
Study Virus Writers

• Many viruses are written with malicious intent.
• Virus as directed weapons??Failure.
• It is impossible for the most expert virus write
  to anticipate the complexity and heterogeneity of
  systems that virus will encounter.
• Human error is always present
• All software no matter how well-behaved, harbors
  errors often unnoticed by the its authors.
• Military organization Sophisticated computer
  virus requires intimate knowledge

5
Hackers Nuisance

• Pryce and Bevan Air Force research labs, Rome,
  NY.
• Limiting factor Knowledge of systems they are
  attacking.
• Conclusion

• The time and effort spent dreaming up scary
  info-war scenarios would be better spend
  bolstering computer security
• Hoaxes
• Virus
• Intruders
• Security