Brutuskend
Lifer
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho - In recent months, U.S. security officials have warned that the nation is not prepared against cyber terrorism. But if Jason Larsen has anything to do about it we'll be better prepared than ever.
Jason types in a few lines of computer code to hack into the controls of a nearby chemical plant. "It's the challenge. It's you finding the flaws," which is his motivation "It's you against the defenders. A computer hacker with a twist, Larsen, 31, who wears his hair long and has braces on his teeth has a goal, boost security for America's pipelines, railroads, utilities and other infrastructure.
Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, the Idaho lab last month launched a new cyber security center where expert hackers such as Larsen test computing vulnerabilities. Spread across 890 square miles in a remote area of eastern Idaho, INEEL gives experts access to an entire isolated infrastructure such as the one Larsen hacked into. "I don't think people have an understanding of what could be the impact of cyber attacks," Paul Kearns, director of INEEL, told Reuters. "They don't understand the threat."
He added that only a computing system totally isolated from the outside, such as that used by the Central Intelligence Agency, would be immune to hacking. Another problem is that many once-isolated systems used to run railroads, pipelines and utilities are now also accessible via the Internet and thus susceptible to sabotage. "More and more of these things are being connected to the Internet, so they can be monitored at corporate headquarters," said Dodd, INEEL's associate lab director. "It is generally accepted that the August blackout last year could have been caused by that kind of activity."
"Most people think risk in this area is not going to result in thousands of deaths," he continued. "If somebody could wreak havoc in the financial system by getting into computers and as a result people lost confidence in the financial system, that could be pretty consequential." Added lab director Kearns: "That's what al Qaeda is all about." The Idaho cyber security effort is part of the Department of Homeland Security's efforts to boost defenses against possible attacks of all kinds. INEEL seeks a delicate balance between encouraging key parts of the U.S. economy to boost their cyber security without inspiring any nefarious acts.
Source: Reuters.com 9/15/04
