DHS Follows Industry Lead on Cyber-Terror
September 17, 2004
By Wayne Rash
WASHINGTON—Lawrence Hale, deputy director of the Department of Homeland Security's cyber security division, said Friday that the DHS depends on the private sector to take the lead in fighting cyber-terrorist threats. "The normal things you do to protect your network will help protect you against cyber-terrorism," he said.
Speaking at a conference on cyber-security organized by NBC News and the Northern Virginia Technology Council, Hale said the department is already aware of some cyber-terror threats, as well as the activities of terrorist organizations on the Internet. "They're using cyberspace for recruiting, fund-raising and communication," he said.
Private-sector businesses in the United States are already taking the lead in making sure that they are protected against attacks and intrusion, according to Hale—and the government is following their lead. While he wouldn't divulge details, Hale said the government is working to lessen the severity of any attack on it.
Hale added that, so far, the agency has not seen any threats of immediate cyber-terror attacks, but he added that they could come without warning. And just because the government isn't aware of any threats doesn't mean they couldn't happen, or that they couldn't be extremely serious.
"Suppose there was a cyber attack at the same time as a physical attack," he suggested. Hale outlined one scenario where a physical attack of the level experienced by the United States three years ago could be accompanied by a cyber attack on the financial services industry and on emergency services, severely restricting the ability of the nation to respond.
Click here to read about wireless tools touted for anti-terrorism.
Hale said the fact that most federal departments and agencies design and build their own networks and computer systems makes it less likely that any one type of attack would succeed across the government. He also said that only certain operating systems, which he declined to name, could be used to handle classified information, ensuring diversity in computer types.
Hale, who is also part of U.S. CERT (Computer Emergency Readiness Team), said he initially expected the private-sector representatives at the conference to question why a representative of DHS was there, but he explained that the department wanted to expand its role with private businesses in its fight against cyber terrorism.
Check out eWEEK.com's Government Center for the latest news and analysis of technology's impact on government practices and regulations, as well as coverage of the government IT sector.
Copyright (c) 2004 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1647410,00.asp
Snicker. To my fellow "brainwashed" colleagues on TM:
***
How TV spreads wrong messages
By Mohammed A.R. Galadari
khaleej times online
18 September 2004
I WAS watching a Fox TV talk show and I liked the way it showed how most Americans have no hatred towards Muslims and Arabs. The show had Oliver North and a former US ambassador engaged in a discussion that touched upon the US elections, among other things.
The anchorman asked the former ambassador why he didn’t want Bush re-elected. The Ambassador said this was because, under his rule,
“We antagonized the whole Muslims around the world, and we made them feel we have a war with the Muslim world”.
Oliver North responded, saying, “You say we antagonized the Muslim world. Don’t you recall September 11, when 19 Muslims and Jihadis came and killed over 3000 people? They took our four aircraft and indulged in the worst kind of attacks on us. The reputation of America was affected.”
The ambassador replied that the fact remained no Muslim country was involved in the attack in any way. They were terrorists and they didn’t do it at the behest of the Muslim world. Bush rightly turned to Afghanistan, because Bin Laden, who claimed responsibility for the attacks, was holed up there. But, Bush didn’t finish the job there when he diverted his attention to Iraq, a country that had nothing to do with Osama bin Laden or the Sept 11 attack, he said.
Dear readers, we all say, and I too say it, that these 19 men were not human beings. They were devils. They did not belong to a country or represent a country. And no one supports anyone for what happened on Sept 11. The whole world has condemned it in strong terms.
It is clear to all that Muslim countries had nothing to do with the attacks.
Even all American leaders have admitted that they have nothing to show there was involvement of Iraq or any other country in the attack.
The fact is that every community, every religion, has terrorists in their ranks. Look at the Oklahoma bombing that killed many. It was a Christian American who did it. But that does not mean all Americans are devils. And no one takes a cue from Oklahoma and says Americans are terrorists.
I am not surprised that Oliver North talked like this on talk shows. What I could make out is that he is fully anti-Muslim. He is brainwashing Americans and bad-mouthing Muslims. The problem, as I said earlier in this column, is that certain anchormen in Fox News are bent on projecting a wrong image about Muslims. I have never seen this in any other American channel. They are showing anger openly against those they don’t like. They don’t mind that some 30 million Americans are watching what they say.
As far as Oliver North is concerned, it proves he is an extreme rightist conservative, with no respect to anybody other than the neo-conservatives.
Readers’ response may be forwarded to marg@khaleejtimes.com
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/comment/2004/September/comment_September19.xml§ion=comment