Protection from cyber-warfare outlined

Is the Internet the new battlefield?

Liken to a nuclear attack, a serious cyber-attack on the US has the potential to bring the country to a grinding halt as stock markets, transport links, emergency services and everything else are thrown into chaos. In order to prevent such an attack, the US government has outlined its plan to protect the nation's computer networks from potential cyber-warfare.

Announced at the world's biggest security event in San Francisco, cyber-security tsar Howard Schmidt outlined the government's Comprehensive National Cyber-security Initiative (CNCI) that was introduced in 2008 by then-President George W Bush.

Cyber-line of defence

According to Schmidt, there are 12 parts to the CNCI, including cyber-counterintelligence and deterrence strategies.

"We have to fully recognise the importance cyber-security has in our lives," he said. "We must continue to seek out innovative new partnerships - not only within government, but also among industry, government and the American public,

As such, the aim of the program has three main points;

• to establish a front line of defence against today's immediate threats
• to defend against the full spectrum of threats
• to strengthen the future cyber-security environment

Unsurprisingly, one of the key areas of the CNCI is protecting and securing the network operating under the dot.gov domain, as well as detecting attempts to access those systems, in order to protect government servers.

Previous attempts by the American government and Homeland Security to prevent cyber-crime have had limited success, and Schmidt acknowledged this. However he did say the US has "a workable strategy for protecting the nation's computer systems in the event of a cyber-attack. "

He, of course, did not detail if the country had any 'offensive plans' however considering the recent 'cyber-scandals' with China, no one would be surprised if they did.

Since President Obama took office, a number of measures have been taken to ensure a rapid response in a 'cyber-emergency'.

Last year, a Senate Bill was passed giving the President the power to close down the internet if such a situation occurred. In such a situation, a group of IT professionals certified by the federal government would initiate a shut-down if a virus or cyber-attack was launched against the United States.

However, there have been criticisms, that the US's online measures are nowhere near good enough. Michael Chertoff, a former secretary at the US Department of Homeland Security, said to The Guardian that current cyber-security policies were a "recipe for disaster" that could inadvertently encourage a virtual attack equivalent to "the next Pearl Harbour".

What do you think? Is the US ready for cyber-attacks or should The Pentagon start trawling college campuses for the best hackers to counter foreign attacks?

Relevant articles:

Google hackers; US closing in | President to be given cyber-power? | Cyber-criminals: Time to go after the hackers?

Timon Singh

Timon Singh is a graduate of Liverpool University where he received a degree in Social and Economic History. He has previously worked for BBC Magazines on BBC Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine, the publication for the popular genealogy show.

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