When American forces in Iraq wanted to lure members of Al Qaeda into a trap, they hacked into one of the group’s computers and altered information that drove them into American gun sights.When President George W. Bush ordered new ways to slow Iran’s progress toward a nuclear bomb last year, he approved a plan for an experimental covert program — its results still unclear — to bore into their computers and undermine the project.And the Pentagon has commissioned military contractors to develop a highly classified replica of the Internet of the future. The goal is to simulate what it would take for adversaries to shut down the country’s power stations, telecommunications and aviation systems, or freeze the financial markets — in an effort to build better defenses against such attacks, as well as a new generation of online weapons.
http://nytimes.com/2009/04/28/us/28cyber.htmlAfter cybersecurity review, Hathaway says White House should take lead
The federal official who led a 60-day review of the U.S. government’s cybersecurity programs for President Barack Obama last week called for the White House to play a more direct role in coordinating national information security efforts.Speaking at the RSA Conference 2009 in San Francisco, Melissa Hathaway, who completed her review on April 17, said that collaboration between the private and public sectors is needed to protect critical systems. But, she added, the task of leading cybersecurity efforts “is the fundamental responsibility of our government.”
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