full-disclosure - Re: flag as cyber terrorism

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Date: Sat, 06 Jan 2007 22:51:51 -0500
From: Valdis.Kletnieks@...edu
To: n3td3v <crewxsecurity@...glemail.com>
Cc: full-disclosure@...ts.grok.org.uk
Subject: Re: flag as cyber terrorism

On Fri, 05 Jan 2007 21:17:58 GMT, n3td3v said:

> We were never sure what defines cyber terrorism and a cyber terrorist
> but now n3td3v via cnet news unleashes the propaganda that points to
> the month of bugs trend as being the "defined cyber terrorism threat".

After which we're *still* unclear about what "cyber terrorism" is, because
not everybody thinks "a month of bugs" is "terrorism".

In fact. terrorism isn't even about blowing stuff up or killing people,
it's about making people worried and afraid.  We are, as a society, not
online enough that "oh no, maybe I won't be able to reach Google" causes
the same sort of visceral panic that people currently feel about "possible
anthrax attack" or "airplanes falling from sky".

Note that most mainstream definitions of "cyber terrorism" are a crock,
because what they *really* are saying is "terrorist attacks that merely
happen to use a (possibly large) online component to leverage a real-world
outcome".  It doesn't matter if you used a computer or 40 pounds of explosives
to take out the substation - the *attack* is "causing a blackout", with the
attendant fear, panic, and stress that creates.

Of course, none of this would matter, if large portions of the security
industry didn't have a vested interest in making money perpetrating
security theatre rather than actually providing security....

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