Question

Short Essay on Cyber Terrorism (458 Words)

Answer 1

In 1999, Chinese hackers targeted United States government sites, after an accidental bombing of a Chinese embassy in Belgrade. During this attack, government sites were hijacked and some sites suffered a denial of service attack. Most recently, it was suspected that Bank of America was the victim of a cyber terrorism attack; although no definitive evidence is available to substantiate that claim. Cyber terror attacks pose a threat against the national security of the United States. In order to fully comprehend the threat that cyber terrorism poses, it is essential to understand the background, the effects, the reality of the threat and the future of cyber terrorism. This assessment examines the reality of the cyber terrorism threat,
Likewise, terrorists will strive to improve their cyber terror attack capabilities by keeping pace with the emerging technologies and overcoming countermeasures.

Many computer security experts question the possibility that the Internet could be used to inflict death on a large scale. Some precautions have been made. Systems have been established in the last five years, which aim at preventing a possible cyber terrorism attack. “Air gapping” has been established on all nuclear weapons, meaning the weapons are not connected to the Internet or any open computer network and cannot be accessed by intruders or terrorists. Still, other areas of concern include subways, gas lines, power grids and communication systems; which are owned primarily by the private sector and are managed by Internet enabled computer systems.

Reality of a Cyber Terror Attack

Malicious cyber activity is occurring more frequently and with unexpected complexity. In mid-December of 2009, Google experienced a highly sophisticated and targeted attack which originated in China on its search engine infrastructure and e-mail, as well as on at least 20 other companies