Standing on the bull's eye

[whatsinaname]

anybody come across this article by Professor Brenner of the University of Dayton School of Law :

http://cybercrimes.net/Terrorism/overview/page3.html

The bottom line seems to be "Watch Out. "An attack can be mounted from a great distance, a victim may not even know that he/she is being attacked; and/or there are no protective measures currently available to protect a potential target from attack."

What's up with these conclusions.

[nihil]

Well,

1. There are a lot of people working in IT security with tools designed for the job.
2. It is somewhat improbable that private individuals and a lot of institutions would really make interesting targets. These are the most likely to be vulnerable.
3. We are probably more technologically advanced and certainly capable of responding in kind.
4. I would have thought that biological and chemical vectors were more of a threat.
5. The approach is probably not "spectacular enough" for a lot of terrorists. It would not have the impact of a suicide bombing.

Just a few thoughts

[rapier57]

Well, there are a lot of reference links on the document that no longer work. I find much of the information on the link suspect:

RF weapons may be converted into deliverable munitions such as hand grenades, mortar rounds, or artillery shells

Yeah, lets capture some RF with this antenna and make some hand grenades?

Granted, that probably isn't what the author meant, but it sure reads that way. The reference link, of course, is long dead--or maybe never really existed.

The claim that effective briefcase-sized TED's can be made for about $300--effective is the key term here--is a bit over the top. About all you might be able to do with a briefcase-sized TED is affect a toy robot about two feet away, assuming you can get the frequency.

Let me point you to Electronic Circuits for the Evil Genius (Cutcher) and Electronic Gadgets for the Evil Genius (Iannini). Excellent texts with real-world examples and projects that show you what these types of technology can do and what it takes to make 'em work.

I'm working on building the plasma-generator/anti-gravity project sometime soon.

[Locked]

Hmmm, but if the internet were to go down, *somehow* then obviously it would be pretty sensational. Despite the claims that the Internet is resistant to attack, if something were to take out the central trunks run by the telcos, then the net would be effectively shut down, especially for transnational transactions that are a major part of the stock exchange. THAT would have an effect.

[nihil]

Errr Locked

Please remember that the internet is a "five minute wonder" and that the World Economy was formed long before it's existence?

It is a bit like destroying all cell phones..............most of us can remember life long before they came into existence

I have every confidence in the members of Western Capitalist Society being able to rip each other off without the internet

/OFF TOPIC

Q: What is the definition of a business partnership?

A: Two thieves with their hands so deep in eachother's pockets, they cannot independently plunder a third.

Have a good week

[whatsinaname]

Hi:

I think its pretty well established that cyber-terrorist attacks can be made from a great distance and that there are no protective measures currently available to protect a potential target from attack.

You tell me the protective measures that are available at this time if you think there are such measures. Direct me to a written citation or web site that spells it out.

What organization could I query as to whether protective measures exist as of this time.
Would the International Union of Radio Science be one to query?

Has anyone read the E bomb by Doug Beason.

By the way, this is not meant to be confrontational. Not in the least. I appreciate the input.

You know, it would be pretty spectacular if three or four neighborhoods in ten, twenty cities were hit by a cyber-terrorist attacks and all individual homeowners computers went black.

What if it happened again in 3 months and then again. Do you think a little unease would occur.

All I'm saying is that these weapons and new technologies exist. Professor Brenner says there are no protective measures currently available.

I'm throwing down the gauntlet. Prove her wrong. I'll be happy to see, hear of, read concrete proof that there are protections against rf weapons, TED's, electromagnetic bombs and the like.

[Tiger Shark]

I have every confidence in the members of Western Capitalist Society being able to rip each other off without the internet

Ahhh... There's the Nihil we all know and love.... ROFLAMO.... I believe I share your confidence....

[rapier57]

Originally posted here by whatsinaname
All I'm saying is that these weapons and new technologies exist. Professor Brenner says there are no protective measures currently available.

To be honest, none of what was mentioned on that site is really "new" technology. I remember a classified briefing in the early 80s on microwave weapon systems. If I told you what was in the briefing, though, I have to kill you. Some of the technology mentioned in the referenced site is repackaged old stuff, and then of course, viruses, worms, trojans and other malware.

For defense on the OS/software front, we have AV software, firewalls, application filtering technologies, malware detection systems and such.

When it comes to technological weapons, such as those mentioned, the main defense against them is that they require huge amounts of energy to generate an effective attack. So much so that it becomes impractical, and raises your activity profile to such an extent that law enforcement is likely alerted.

Again, I'll point you to the Evil Genius books. Very useful in providing hard electronics background on this type of technology.

[whatsinaname]

It's been bandied about that organized crime, hate groups, and the like have their hands on electronic weapons.

google "through the wall imaging"

google "millimeter waves"

Can you sing along with Sting
Every breath you take
Every move you make
I'll be watching you

[Locked]

Nihil, i meant the trunk of economics, IE bank transactions, stock exchange, etc. W/o those, then everything would quickly fall apart, due to how much we've come to rely on them. Our world today depends on communications with the far reaches. How would companies pay their employees? I used to work for Zales corporation(diamond company, and don't ask) and my checks were signed by some guy in california! My check couldn't be cashed if the bank couldn't communicate with their hq/bank account. Thats what I'm talking about. Did you hear about that incident a while ago about how parts of the west coast had no 'net because some guy accidentally dug out a piece of the fiber?Three different ISP's lost service because of that incident.