A common man when thinks about cyber terrorism or cyber crime, they think it may be just an illegal activity over some credit cards or online bank accounts, DDOS attacks, hacked social networking website profiles etc but what they do not think is the water running down from the tap, lights inside their home and the gas heaters can be stopped and this can be done through “cyber crime”.
The result of attacks on the basic necessities of life could be far be more important than those cyber frauds what people think about these crimes.
The America’s Homeland Security Department in 2010 responded to nearly 116 requests (only) made for help by the cyber experts of its CSS program (Control System Security Program).
By September 2011, this number raised to 342. All of these attacks were not home originated. On 8th November, an IP address from Russia attacked Illinois based water utility supply company and succeeded in controlling the supervisory control and data acquisition which resulted in the burning of related water pump. These types of attacks are not new and many people deeply related to the world of internet know such attacks made in the past. Like, back in 2007, a group of hackers attacked a diesel generator and managed to make it self-destruct.
Currently, the companies which are in the prospect of these attacks can only avert 67 to 76% of such attacks. They can raise this percentage to 100% or even more than that but the only thing which pulls them back from doing this is “Money”. In other words, the relation between cyber security and money is directly proportional.
At the present, companies are spending $5.5 billion for maintaining cyber security and to reach up to 100% they need to send more than $50 billion. They say, “The customers will not grant this increase”.
In the midst of these true National threat created by cyber security, some people would expect the government to get involved and play its role of passing some bills for this very important improvement. Whereas, some would suppose that thisis a private sector issue and the government should not intercede.
Although funny but this is said by some people that probably the World War 3 will be fought over the internet like Mr. Glen Derene in an article in October 2009 said “The next world war may not start with a bang, but a blackout”.
