The Growing Threat Of Cyberwarfare
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2012-06-04/growing-threat-cyberwarfare
Recent revelations about the Stuxnet and Flame computer attacks show the urgency of threats in the digital universe. Two years ago, the Stuxnet worm, which was designed to attack uranium processing centrifuges, was discovered at an Iranian nuclear plant. Last week, The New York Times reported President Barack Obama approved the operation as part of a secret U.S. and Israeli campaign against Iran begun under the Bush administration. And days ago, we learned of Flame, a cyberespionage mission secretly collecting data in Iran for years. Washington Post investigative reporter Robert O’Harrow has written a series on the fundamental nature of cyberspace. He joins Diane and cybersecurity experts to discuss vulnerabilities and strategies for defense.
Guests
Robert O'Harrow
investigative reporter, The Washington Post, and author of "No Place To Hide."
James Lewis
director and senior fellow, Technology and Public Policy Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Mischel Kwon
president, Mischel Kwon Associates, a security consulting firm; former director, the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT).
Charles Miller
principal research consultant at Accuvant.
Comments
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Rockets fired from U.S. drone killed 15 Pakistanis today. According to Reuters, "US officials say such strikes by the remotely piloted aircraft are highly effective against militants and are an important weapon in war against militancy." Why don't we have a show on how Congress never authorized a war against militancy in a foreign country? Unemployment moved UP even thought the number of folks looking for work is down. A show on the definition of 'Forward?' Important issues but taboo on DRShow because would make idol-in-chief look bad. So we'll discuss cyberwarfare. Let's be sure to book Ms Sebelius to refresh our memory about how socialized medicine is a good thing for all of us.
How do we know that our patent office is free of viruses like this? How do we know that ALL of our intellectual property is safe at the patent office? Also, how can we know that we might not have one or more foreign spies at any of the patent offices, given that many of the PTO's new examiners have been newly naturalized foreigners, that I don't believe are even required to undergo deep security checks.. Examiners have also now been allowed to work from home, something they were never allowed to do in the past.
Isn't our country's IP, now at much more serious risk than it ever was in the past, when everything was on paper and all examiners were U.S. born?
Hey, but don't let any of this keep you from loading onto a cloud. Your government is counting on you to divulge your plans.
Ever since the bloated dept of Homeland Security, billions are spent and thousands of people have jobs, spying on one another. It's a new industry that, though mostly useless, does keep some people off the street!
Yep, "Social Engineering" is brought up as I start to write this.
Nothing will protect any system from the clueless user.
The two greatest threats to the American public are data mining of our privacy through business-government cooperation, and the elite secrecy that makes it possible. Homeland Security has gone beyond criminalizing dissent and is now making free discourse suspect by screening for a plethora of evocative keywords to investigate the general e-mailing, texting, posting and phoning population. I think cloth diaper users may have been flagged years ago on Facebook and deluged with Luvies and Pampers ads. It would matter to "Waste Management Consultants."
I am not impressed that someone says, "If your computer is unplugged." If my internet connection is unplugged, ie. my modem is put on standby, I don't know that a> my modem could be taken off of standby by someone outside my house, or b> that the computer could be turned on from outside the house. "Wizards" who want us to be sophisticated and in some knowledge must Share the knowledge, not throw smoke screens of fear. Then, I was assured by the American Service member who said the orders for his computers arrive by Compact Disk. Having one's computers completely off the internet is certainly the most sensible way to protect one's system. The vulnerability then is in the making and delivering of the CDs. Stepping down from the big net is still the best way, it would seem, to protect an important system. Another point. "IT" stands for Information Technology therefore what is done there must be of the intelligence variety and not making war. Espionage and disinformation seems to be what is involved in much of the modern, highly paid, political world. Not so dissimilar, it seems to me, from international espionage.
Wow! I didn't realize that the U.S. was hiring new citizens (at not too high pay) to handle our intellectual "properties." That does seem a bit , if not dangerous at least likely to help the copycat industries of the world.
Perhaps if we were funding our computer (and other) education programs adequately, we could find a way to make our computers safe from "hackers" and others. We should not allow fear of such intruders to hamper the enormous capabilities of the Internet, which could lead, among other things, to a more representative democracy, in which people could vote not only for politicians, but also for--and against--issues. That would be a true democracy and worth the money to make it secure.
Truth Seeker: Did you ever consider that technological circumstances have made the concept of intellectual property obsolete? Maybe it costs more to defend now than it is worth.
anewsboy: In a wireless age, how is "unplugged" relevant?
@Pancake Rankin
IP may be a "necessary evil" in a modern society (unless we want to go back to being hunter-gatherers). It is precisely what allowed the U.S. to have a productivity and economic explosion from 1850 to at least 1950 (starting with Eli Whitney's cotton gin - ironically, he may also have been the first guy to get ripped off by the pirating of this technology).
The U.S. patent system is what made other countries want a patent system of their own. But up until recently, ours was the first and best one around. If the 21st century is the century of ideas, services and more "virtual stuff", (rather than tangible things), then how can any of these ideas be valued if they can't be protected by anyone? Why would anyone spend 1-10 years developing something, at great cost in time and resources, without reward, if they could never get compensated for their efforts and sacrifices.Only extremely wealthy people could ever afford to do this, but then why would they?
Without good (and easy) IP protection, the entire world economy will collapse back to a simple agrarian one, or a society in which only services are exchanged for less and less pay (we are already seeing this happen) and product innovation cycles would seriously decline. Independent invention is already heading for extinction (due to very high costs). The movie industry is starting to have real problems due to low revenues, and the massive pirating of their IP products (i.e. movies).
Getting "stuff" for cheap, or free is great, until YOU'RE the one asked to supply the free stuff !! What great ideas will you give me in exchange for my great ideas and how will we know who's idea is better, or more valuable to society? Also, "big guys" will always beat up on little guys, if there are no rules in place to prevent it. Patents and copyrights encapsulate these rules (or used to).
Diane Rehm and NPR helping America understand that their idol-in-chief authorized such bold measures. Our contributions and tax dollars helping NPR promote Obama. And they want us to believe Citizens United is flawed!
@jim davis
Apparently you would much prefer to be "governed" by the Koch brothers and their partners in crime! (actually I forgot the word I wanted to use in quotes but I think it starts with an 'f').
The mythical "cyberwar" is nothing more than a war on civil liberties and a money grab. Dont get it twisted, the US Gov created Stuxnet, and the US military has no business being a part of anything "cyber" related.
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20111023/02413916479/non-existent-cyber...
@node808
Don't worry, all this could come back and bite us real bad pretty soon. Even drones might become a future big problem for us.