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REGION: North America

TOPIC: Science & Technology

Online NewsHour

Posted: July 16, 2009

Cyber Attacks on Governments

Forum Introduction

		On the Fourth of July, cyber attacks started targeting computers at the White House, the Pentagon and other major U.S. government agencies. The New York Stock Exchange and the South Korean government were also targets. Who and what are behind the attacks? Two experts take your questions.

How can the average person protect his or her computer or Web site from being infected and used in similar cyber attacks?

What software vulnerabilities were exploited in the attacks? How has the software company responded?

I visited a foreign Web site and was greeted with a message saying I was under a malware attack. What should I have done?

When another nation launches a cyber attack on the United States government, why is it never discussed as an act of war?

How did malicious code get planted on so many computers? Did all the infected computers have to be turned on to be hijacked?

Can computers or servers be programmed to ignore repeated contacts from the same IP address to lower the risk of such attacks?

Do you foresee average Internet users benefitting from Internet2 community research?

Government security aside, is it sensible to expose one's personal financial to the Internet through online banking and brokerage?

Can adaptive software in routers be used to cope with cyber attacks?


	Steve of San Pedro, Calif., asks:

	The June 29 issue of New Scientist magazine had an article on new techniques from Stanford University that use adaptive software in routers (OpenFlow) to make the net more stable. Can those same techniques be used to cope with cyber attacks?

Randy Sabett responds:

I can't comment specifically on OpenFlow, but the general notion of adaptive software holds great promise for dealing with cyber attacks. As such an attack is detected, having software that automatically responds and adapts to the attack would provide much quicker response. Also, as mentioned earlier, the sheer number of attackers combined with the increasing number of attack vectors means that multiple changes to those attack mechanisms can result in a set of conditions that are nearly impossible to accurately track with a passive approach. Having technology that adapts to such changing conditions would significantly help in dealing with such attacks.

Rod Beckstrom responds:

No comment regarding software and techniques we have not evaluated.




		May 29, 2009 Digital Threats Mark New Front in Nation's Security

		May 29, 2009 Obama Looks to Beef Up Security Against Digital Threats

		May 21, 2009 In-depth coverage: Domestic Security




		April 10, 2009 Cyber Crime and Spying Threaten National Security


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