Lawmaker: Beware of cyber-Pearl Harbor

The United States and Europe need to bolster their defenses against cyberattacks, a U.S. congressman warns.

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A Simple Solution

There is a very simple way to ensure that no terrorist or hacker takes control of the power grid: isolate it completely from the Internet and do all remote device control through a private network using encrypted messages. Also, there should be no way to simply dial in to the private network through the telephone system.

The use of encrypted communications would make it extremely difficult for the terrorist/hacker to tap a wire in the private network and try to find out how the control system works simply by observing the message traffic. Encryption and related techniques, such as sequence numbering and message authentication codes, can be used to prevent the terrorist/hacker from inserting their own messages into the system.

-- Craig Johannsen, Critical Path Consulting, Inc.

[Steven N]

So scared...

Please don't export you FUD outside the US...