Although an act of cyberterrorism has yet to occur, officials and scholars continuously study the possibilities of such an attack. As our physical and virtual worlds continue to intertwine the risk of such an event rapidly increases. Everything from our transportation systems to pharmaceutical manufacturing are computer controlled. The closest the world has come to an act of cyberterrorism was in 2000. Known as the Maroochy Shire case in Queensland, Australia was committed by Vitek Boden. Boden was an engineer for Pacific Paradise, a sewage pumping in Australia. He was able to successful hack into a control system modifying the operations and dumping millions of litres of raw sewage into the local waterways. Boden’s motivation was the only reason the act was not classified as cyberterrorism was his motivation. It was personal rather than political or religious in nature (Sharp Parker, 2009). The only reason this wasn’t the first act of cyberterrorism was motivation. As companies invest in upgrading their technological capabilities, they too need to invest in security structure to protect their systems and the public from threats of terrorism. Our government must also decide how to address public safety in regards to cyberterrorism. On September 11th, 2001 America was reminded how vulnerable we are when it comes to acts of terrorism. The sheer complexity and varying design of attacks often makes it very difficult to create a catch-all defense in fighting terrorism. To improve the disruption of terrorist activities by government agencies in the United States many laws needed to be updated to include the latest areas of electronic communications. In response to the attack on the World Trade Center in New York City, Congress passed... ... middle of paper ... ...orism. Agents can successfully trace computer intruders, share information, and operate on a global level aiding their efforts to protect Americans at home and abroad. Works Cited 107th Congress. (2001, October 26). Retrieved March 1, 2010, from U.S. Government Printing Office Home Page: http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=107_cong_public_laws&docid=f:publ056.107.pdf Department of Justice. (n.d.). What is the USA Patriot Web. Retrieved March 1, 2010, from Department of Justice: http://www.justice.gov/archive/ll/highlights.htm Doyle, C. (2002, April 15). Retrieved March 1, 2010, from Federation of American Scientists: http://fas.org/irp/crs/RL31377.pdf Sharp Parker, A. (2009). Cyberterrorism: The Emerging Worldwide Threat. In D. Canter, The Faces of Terrorism: Multidisciplinary Perspectives (pp. 245-255). Malden: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
The Department Of Justice has had to address evolving challenges such as mortgage fraud, corporate fraud, and cyber crime including online child pornography. As it seeks to balance and address competing and new priorities, the department faces several key challenges.
Federal Bureau of Investigation Careers. United States Dept. of Justice, n.d. Web. 8 Dec. 2011. .
"FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin: A History." FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin 81.12 (2012): 1-2. Academic Search Premier. Web. 30 Mar. 2014.
Future Crimes is a gripping book about the plethora of risks that encompass cybersecurity based crimes; Future Crimes delivers a staggering glimpse into the dark side of technological innovation and addresses the inadvertent consequences of our connected world. Future Crimes is written by one of the world’s leading authorities on global security, Marc Goodman. “Marc Goodman is a global strategist, author, and consultant focused on the disruptive impact of advancing technologies on security, business, and international affairs. Over the past twenty years, he has built his expertise in next generation security threats such as cybercrime, cyber-terrorism, and information warfare working with organizations such as Interpol, the United Nations,
Cyberterrorism is an act that is planned beforehand, which disturbs the natural functioning of electronic devices for political gain (Maggio, 2009). One important factor that determines whether an act is considered cyberterrorism is it has to hurt someone or something and cause enough damage to create fear (Maggio, 2009). Some examples of cyberterrorism are shutting down servers that control power grids hacking into a railroad track system to cause accidents. Hacktivists can sometimes be confused as cyberterrorists (Maggio, 2009). Generally, hacktivists do not cause as much damage as cyberterrorists but there are similarities (Maggio, 2009). Such as political motivations, and damaging property (Maggio, 2009).
The world is currently in an era of technology where any information is almost immediately available. This includes information in areas such as stock exchanges, weapons, banking information, corporate transactions, and governmental secrets. Every industry is becoming so tightly coupled with the internet that the concept of being disconnected is almost unthinkable. However, increased connectivity means increased risk. All of this information is not only available for people to learn from and use positively, it has considerable potential to be used to harm. Terrorists have the ability to use these resources to their advantage in gaining strategic information about their targets and use it in an attack. However, these potential threats do not only come from outside forces.
Cyberwarfare is becoming a very serious problem. It is equivalent to a “sneak attack” that is so powerful, that in milliseconds, unknowingly, can instantly disable a country 's financial infrastructure, take down Web sites belonging to anyone from the local mom & pop business around the corner to the White House, America’s defense military structures and many others. Because of the challenges for security experts, it makes it near impossible for some of the attacks, big or small, from being detected. Furthermore, the complexity of the perpetrators warfare will make it equally difficult in in not only identifying who they are, but bringing them to justice. Attacks have become much more widespread, technically sophisticated, and even more potentially devastating by the minute. As the advancement of technology continues to progress forward at a rate of speed never going to slow down, so does the threat of cyberwarfare. Both go dangerously hand in hand.
Government entities are, in most cases, the primary target of cyber criminals. These government entities must constantly be on guard against espionage, website defacing and endless hacking attempts. Policies and procedures outlined within the cybersecurity plan must be enforced in order to protect national and trade secrets. The government has another, equally important responsibility; to prosecute those who violate established laws which protect these secrets. In order to be successful, the government must enact strict laws and regulations regarding cybersecurity; in addition, the government must also keep up with technologic advancements and ensure policy advances at an equal rate. The speed at which technology is advancing requires a change in the way laws are passed and enacted in order to keep pace. The current system of passing laws is not conducive to the constant, fast-paced changes which occur in cyberspace on a daily basis. Another significant challenge which exists is to create laws which are general enough to apply to many cases, yet are clear enough to prevent loopholes for cyber criminals to
Prosecution efforts are led by the Department of Justice (DOJ). The nation is defended against
Cyber-crime is defined by the Department of Homeland Security as the production and distribution of child pornography and child exploitation conspiracies, banking and financial fraud, and intellectual property violations. Personally, cyber-attacks on national institutions would be a greater threat to the nation than those committed on individuals. Corporate security breaches, spear phishing, and social media fraud are all current threats that occur several times daily across the country and world. The Department of Homeland Security works with other federal agencies to conduct high-impact criminal investigations. These investigations are used to disrupt and defeat cyber criminals. Firstly understanding what cyber-attacks on national institutions
“Cyber terrorism is any Planned, governmentally interested spasm against information, computer systems, computer databases, and records which results in violence against non-combatant targets by sub-national groups or secret agents.”
The nation has become dependent on technology, furthermore, cyberspace. It’s encompassed in everything we deliver in our daily lives, our phones, internet, communication, purchases, entertainment, flying airplane, launching missiles, operating nuclear plants, and implicitly, our protection. The more ever-growing technology empower Americans, the more they become prey to cyber threats. The United States Executive Office of the President stated, “The President identified cybersecurity as one of the top priorities of his administration in doing so, directed a 60-day review to assess polices.” (United States Executive Office of the President, 2009, p.2). Furthermore, critical infrastructure, our network, and internet alike are identified as national assets upon which the administration will orchestrate integrated cybersecurity policies without infringing upon and protecting privacy. While protecting our infrastructure, personal privacy, and civil liberties, we have to keep in mind the private sector owns and operates the majority of our critical and digital infrastructure.
Society has become ever-increasingly dependent upon technology, more specifically, computers to conduct personal and business transactions and communications. Consequently, criminals have targeted these systems to conduct information and cyber warfare, which can include politically motivated attacks and to profit through ill-gotten means. In an article written by Koblentz and Mazanec (2013), cyber warfare is the act of disabling an enemy’s ability to use or obtain information, degrade its ability to make decisions, and to command its military forces. Additionally, information warfare is composed of cyber warfare and related to the protection, disruption, destruction, denial, or manipulation of information in order to gain a benefit through the technologies (Taddeo, 2012). Accordingly, as technology becomes readily available to various entities, the ability to conduct or perform warfare through technological means is multiplying.
It is difficult to define cyberculture because its boundaries are uncertain and applications to certain circumstances can often be disputed. The common threads of defining cyberculture is a culture which has evolved and continues to evolve from the use of computer networks and the internet and is guided by social and cultural movements reflective of advancements in scientific and technological information. It is not a unified culture but rather a culture that exists in cyberspace and is a compilation of numerous new technologies and capabilities, used by diverse people in diverse real – world locations. Cyberculture, a twentieth century phenomena, has brought challenges unlike any other that the United States has seen in the areas of cyber security and its impact on our most critical institutions. This presentation will focus on the aforementioned three entities where national security is in jeopardy in part due to cyberculture and its intentional use for disruptive and destructive purposes. Breaches of security to the United States Department of Defense, the national power grid and the Chamber of Commerce are very real and omnipresent.
In summary there are many problems that currently affect the response to cyber crime and cyber terrorism. We need to collectively address this problem more seriously, and begin training our security departments thoroughly, as well as establish diplomatic boundaries and international laws about cyber terrorism threats in an aid to keep terrorist groups at bay. Knowledge is power, and the more educated the American people are about cyber threats, the safer our great country will be.