Reply #65: Is this a response to the 'cyber-attacks' agaist the US lately? [View All]

[mogster]

http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=205901631&cid=RSSfeed_IWK_All

CIA Admits Cyberattacks Blacked Out Cities

The disclosure was made at a New Orleans security conference Friday attended by international government officials, engineers, and security managers.
The CIA on Friday admitted that cyberattacks have caused at least one power outage affecting multiple cities outside the United States.

Alan Paller, director of research at the SANS Institute, said that CIA senior analyst Tom Donahue confirmed that online attackers had caused at least one blackout. The disclosure was made at a New Orleans security conference Friday attended by international government officials, engineers, and security managers from North American energy companies and utilities.

Paller said that Donahue presented him with a written statement that read, "We have information, from multiple regions outside the United States, of cyber intrusions into utilities, followed by extortion demands. We suspect, but cannot confirm, that some of these attackers had the benefit of inside knowledge. We have information that cyberattacks have been used to disrupt power equipment in several regions outside the United States. In at least one case, the disruption caused a power outage affecting multiple cities. We do not know who executed these attacks or why, but all involved intrusions through the Internet."

More:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/25/AR2008012503261_pf.html

Bush Order Expands Network Monitoring
Intelligence Agencies to Track Intrusions

President Bush signed a directive this month that expands the intelligence community's role in monitoring Internet traffic to protect against a rising number of attacks on federal agencies' computer systems.

The directive, whose content is classified, authorizes the intelligence agencies, in particular the National Security Agency, to monitor the computer networks of all federal agencies -- including ones they have not previously monitored.

Until now, the government's efforts to protect itself from cyber-attacks -- which run the gamut from hackers to organized crime to foreign governments trying to steal sensitive data -- have been piecemeal. Under the new initiative, a task force headed by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) will coordinate efforts to identify the source of cyber-attacks against government computer systems. As part of that effort, the Department of Homeland Security will work to protect the systems and the Pentagon will devise strategies for counterattacks against the intruders.

This can't be a coincidence, with three cables cut. But what will they gain from cutting them? Is this some kind of operation where the 'service people' doing cable maintenance will install listening devices on the main ME internet line, perhaps? ;-)