A Cyber Pearl Harbor?
By Press
From Federal Computer Week and FCW.com, a story that says that federal agencies are bracing for a cyberattack of historic proportions, a virtual "cyber Pearl Harbor."
The concern comes in the wake of the recent denial-of-service attack by Russian nationalists against Estonia’s government in a diplomatic dust-up.
According to the article:
Bush administration officials have been preparing in a variety of ways to harden the government’s cyberdefenses against a massive cyberattack, which could disable large portions of the Internet on which government operations depend. One recent step was an Office of Management and Budget memo requiring agencies to use standard Microsoft Windows desktop and laptop PC configurations. That policy will make it easier for federal agencies to automatically apply software security patches.
And, "[i]n an unusual action, the CIO Council met May 16 at a secure location in Washington to discuss cybersecurity and nation-state attacks."
Officials are also considering the implications of an attack -- or counterattack -- with respect to the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.
The concern comes in the wake of the recent denial-of-service attack by Russian nationalists against Estonia’s government in a diplomatic dust-up.
According to the article:
Bush administration officials have been preparing in a variety of ways to harden the government’s cyberdefenses against a massive cyberattack, which could disable large portions of the Internet on which government operations depend. One recent step was an Office of Management and Budget memo requiring agencies to use standard Microsoft Windows desktop and laptop PC configurations. That policy will make it easier for federal agencies to automatically apply software security patches.
And, "[i]n an unusual action, the CIO Council met May 16 at a secure location in Washington to discuss cybersecurity and nation-state attacks."
Officials are also considering the implications of an attack -- or counterattack -- with respect to the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.
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