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Hacker Activity Could Mean Computer Outages in 2012

January 05, 2012

According to an article in Nextgov.com, computer security firm McAfee predicts hackers will join forces with offline protesters in 2012 for strikes on transportation computer systems and other critical government networks. McAfee reports that its yearly assessments are meant to convince authorities and network administrators to take threats more seriously.

Dave Marcus, security research director for McAfee Labs, said. "We don't write them to be doomsayers. It's possible to secure these types of systems. But part of that preparedness may require changing behavior."

According to the article, annual predictions released by McAfee note that anti-Wall Street protesters occupying parks in cities across the country and digital activists associated with the group Anonymous may soon operate as "cyberoccupiers."

"Think about the effectiveness if you actually shut down transportation in the place that you're sitting in at," said Marcus. "You actually take the step of taking their power offline."

According to the article, the Pentagon recently equated cyber-attacks to acts of war that can warrant strikes in response, and next year, McAfee says, the U.S. military will show its cyber capabilities.

"I think governments are going to be much more up front about what kind of cyber capabilities they have," Marcus said. "It looks like, from an outsider view, that China walks all over us." War games would allow for "showing off your digital weaponry in a different kind of format, which is a safer way to intimidate without divulging actual probes,” Marcus added.

Nextgov.com reported that other 2012 scenarios envision that the “hacktivists” will increase the amount of disclosures of government officials' e-mails and other private data. And, according to McAfee, industrial supervisory control and data acquisition systems that operate power grids and water plants will be more vulnerable because they were not designed for the Internet environment.

"It's time for extensive penetration testing and emergency response planning that includes cybercomponents and networking with law enforcement at all levels," Marcus stated.

"I think most of us tend to favor self-regulation," Marcus said. "But for something as big as infrastructure, you may need the government involved.” Additionally, Marcus noted that officials should provide companies with resources and guidance, not just penalize them.

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Washington Policy Brief