The Danger of Cyber Threats: The Future of Warfare
In mid September 2012, The New York Times’ computer systems were infiltrated by a series of cyber attacks traced to Chinese hackers. Reporters’ passwords were stolen and sensitive information was breached.[1] The Chinese government denied any responsibility. Since then, there have been multiple reports of Chinese hackers infiltrating other American news organizations, such as The Washington Post, Bloomberg News and the Wall Street Journal.[2] This outbreak of cyber attacks does not reflect a new method of warfare and espionage, but a growing global phenomenon beginning in the 1990s. The Department of Defense (DOD) categorizes a cyber threat as either a cyber attack or cyber espionage. A cyber attack aims to manipulate or disrupt data, while cyber espionage aims to steal data.[3] The U.S. government became aware of the depth of its vulnerability to cyber threats in 1997 through the ‘Eligible Receiver’ test run by the DOD. In this test a team of hackers were organized to infiltrate the Pentagon using only publically available computer equipment and hacking software. With these limited resources they were able to take control of the U.S. Pacific Command Center computers, power grids and 911 systems in nine major U.S. cities.[4] Despite this astonishing feat, the United States did not begin large-scale defensive precautions against cyber threats until after 9/11. Driven to action by the 9/11 terrorist attacks, a group of concerned scientists wrote a...
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