Cyber terrorism: fact or fiction

Abstract

Asian hackers are using Trojans to gather information from workers in the UK Government and the national infrastructure. The Trojans come as attachments or through links to specially crafted websites and use social engineering tactics that come from spoofed senders. Around 300 UK Government departments and critical infrastructure businesses have been attacked warns the UK National Infrastructure Security Coordination Centre (NISCC). The Security centre said that the attackers are gathering commercial or economically valuable information. The agency also warned that anti-virus software and firewalls do not give complete protection. It has released detection and protection advice against the Trojans. We have heard the term cyber terrorism used since the mid 1990s, when the concept of using computers and other types of high technology as weapons was first openly discussed in the form of Information Warfare. Since then we have seen the development of information warfare capability in at least two countries (the USA, China), but the events in the USA of 9/11/2001 and the subsequent response have elevated the fear of terrorism and, as a result, cyber terrorism to a new plane. There has been a strong and understandable reaction to the new terrorist threat and the concept of high tech attacks that they might launch seems to have become wrapped up in the whole atmosphere of fear.