To head off a real-life ‘War Games,’ boost funding to fight cyber terror

Most of us remember David, the computer whiz from “War Games” who managed to hack into “Joshua” — the Strategic Air Command’s nuclear launch computer — and unknowingly started a countdown to thermo-nuclear war. Although this Hollywood version of cyber terrorism ended happily ever after, the reality is that a similar catastrophic event is a more likely threat than ever.

Cyber terrorism is growing at an alarmingly rapid rate as cyber terrorists attempt to infiltrate and attack networks within the United States. According to a recent Congressional Research Service report, cyber terrorists are employing technology to communicate with and gather sympathizers, attack computer networks, hack into systems and find sensitive military and government information.

Unfortunately, “War Games” isn’t limited to Hollywood fiction. Real-world nonfiction has already arrived. In 1997, a 16-year-old in Massachusetts managed to disrupt the entire public telephone network, resulting in a loss of phone lines for hundreds of residents, the loss of phone service for emergency vehicles and fire trucks, and disruption of airport communications for landing and departing flights. In 2001, a London man successfully infiltrated the Windows security system run by NASA, the Pentagon and 12 other military institutions, allowing him to delete sensitive files, monitor traffic and shut down military computer networks from the East Coast to Pearl Harbor. In 2003, a cyber “worm,” known the Blaster, caused a slowdown of all Internet connections and is believed to have caused massive power outages on the East Coast. The 2005 London bombings were most likely initiated via cyber-terrorism, and in 2006, the U.S. Navy War College in Rhode Island was forced to shut down its Internet systems due to cyber threats. The Pentagon shared a similar circumstance the following year. While these incidents did not result in catastrophic calamities, they illustrate the potential for great damage and destruction.

Terrorist organizations throughout the world, and particularly in the Middle East, are quickly exploiting network vulnerabilities as a new tactic. According to the Department of Defense, these groups increasingly use networks to communicate, gather sympathizers, attack computer networks, hack into systems and find sensitive information. Recent statistics show that U.S. government, military and intelligence agencies are victim to about 6 million probes daily. The U.S. is the number one country attacked by cyber terrorism, accounting for a third of all attacks worldwide. It is apparent that the Global War on Terrorism has reached a new battleground.

The growing threat of cyber terrorism has heightened our realization that we must improve our cyber security, but we are making dangerously slow progress. The recently House-passed Homeland Security appropriations bill totaled $38.9 billion, of which just $313.5 million is allocated toward cyber security. Although this may seem like a large sum, it pales in comparison to McAfee, one of the country’s leading cyber security companies that boasted a revenue balance over $1 billion in 2007. Clearly, the private sector has realized the importance of cyber security.

Within the Department of Defense, the Air Force has created the Air Force Cyber Command. This command was created specifically to combat cyber terrorism, by employing the latest technology to “enhance global vigilance, global reach, and global power by delivering increasingly larger information payloads, higher levels of energy, and increasingly sophisticated effects”. While this is certainly a step in the right direction, the threat of cyber terrorism is simply too dangerous to entrust our cyber security to a single agency, department or industry. We need to bring together the best of all worlds if we are going to enact a robust defense.

One such example is the Cyber Security Research Institute (CSRI) at Armstrong Atlantic State University in Savannah, Ga. The facility, founded in January 2006, seeks to enhance cyber and homeland security and to advance cyber security education among students at all levels.

Through public/private alliances, the center brings together the best of the university, government and cutting-edge technologies. It’s the direction in which we should be moving.

Our reliance on networks is unprecedented. Our use of them and the danger it poses will continue to grow. As networks grow more complex and more integrated, we must pull together the best components of government, defense and industry. The model of Armstrong’s CSRI is just one example of the next generation in defending our nation. As the 111th Congress convenes in January, we need to continue to seek solutions in combating the next front in the Global War on Terrorism, and give Cyber Security the emphasis it demands. Failure to do so may result in a 21st-century “War Games” — one that doesn’t have a happy ending.

Kingston is a member of the House Appropriations Committee.