http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/computersecurity/2007-06-07-us-cyberattack-preparation_N.htm?csp=34Could the U.S. repel a cyberattack?
By Ben Arnoldy and Gordon Lubold, The Christian Science Monitor
Oakland and Washington — Evidence is mounting that cyberwarfare tactics are part of the 21st-century arsenals of powers like Russia and China, yet the United States has not made Internet defenses a major priority.
A two-week cyberattack on Estonia – which overloaded government websites, knocked a bank's overseas customers offline, and caused Internet service to slow to a crawl – has brought the issue to the fore for U.S. defense officials. While the tiny Baltic nation reacted well, experts say,
the U.S. may be at greater risk for mass disruptions of banking, telecommunications, and government services. The reasons: a lack of coordination, funding, and centralized authority."Estonia didn't collapse, and we wouldn't collapse under this type of attack either," says James Lewis, a senior fellow and cybersecurity analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think tank in Washington. "But it would be very disruptive."
Repelling major attacks on critical national networks requires enormous coordination inside and outside government, as well as expensive research and preparation. However, primary responsibility for this falls on a small group within the Department of Homeland Security that experts say operates on a tiny budget and with little clout.
"The part of the U.S. government that has responsibility for this doesn't have the authority to command attention from within other parts of the government, and it doesn't have the money to get the work done that is on its plate," says Bill Woodcock, a cybersecurity expert with the non-profit Packet Clearing House who also traveled to Estonia to lend his help.
more...