Watching Out for a National Cyberdisaster
Cyber-attacks threaten not only businesses, but also critical infrastructure.
August 31, 2009 at 08:00 PM
5 minute read
Cyber-attacks have become a big deal in the mainstream news recently. Several major Web sites fell victim to denial of service attacks in July and August (read more about denial of service attacks in “Zombie Attack“). Twitter was the most notable to get victimized, as hackers twice brought the social networking site to its knees for several days. Media reports suggested Russian operatives staged at least one of the attacks to silence a blogger critical of Russia's policies toward the nation of Georgia.
However, cyber-attacks threaten not only businesses, but also critical infrastructure. With more and more of American society reliant on the Internet, terrorists could theoretically bring down important parts of the nation's infrastructure–hospitals, utilities, communication channels such as Twitter or government agencies, for example–through Web-based attacks.
“[These] attacks are not necessarily meant to get at customer data but are just meant to shut down systems and wreak havoc,” says Susan Lyon, of counsel at Perkins Coie.
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
Trending Stories
- 1Wine, Dine and Grind (Through the Weekend): Summer Associates Thirst For Experience in 'Real Matters'
- 2The Law Firm Disrupted: For Big Law Names, Shorter is Sweeter
- 3The 'Biden Effect' on Senior Attorneys: Should I Stay or Should I Go?
- 4BD Settles Thousands of Bard Hernia Mesh Lawsuits
- 5'You Are Not Alone': 120 Sex Assault Victims Plan to Sue Sean 'Diddy' Combs
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250