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The danger of critical infrastructure being attacked digitally is already far greater than the risk of say, a bomb attack. Weakening our digital defenses to spy

The danger of critical infrastructure being attacked digitally is already far greater than the risk of say, a bomb attack. Weakening our digital defenses to spy on terrorists is like throwing your laptop in the pool because you're afraid someone might light it on fire.

rsync 11y ago
"The danger of critical infrastructure being attacked digitally is already far greater than the risk of say, a bomb attack." This is not true. However, it is important to keep in mind that were it ever true it would be because of blatant negligence on the part of human actors. It is neither obvious nor inevitable that a nuclear plant will ever be attacked digitally because a nuclear plant need not be networked - even internally. It is neither obvious nor inevitable that a hydro dam will ever be attacked digitally because a hydro dam need not be networked - even internally. With an open mind and some creativity this could be true even for things like air traffic control and the power grid. They don't need Internet access. They might not even need IP. If any of these things are fragile to digital attacks it is because they were gratuitously made fragile.
- Lawtonfogle 11y ago
  One only needs to look at the recent issue with hacking cars to see that it is quite possible. A single bomb, short of a nuke, would do far less damage than a virus attacking certain vehicles. The real issue is the effort needed to acquire the bomb/build the virus. Bombs seem to still have a far lower startup cost, so while you may get less bang for your dollar, they are more popular. Is it popularity or damage/$ that determines what is more dangerous?
- omarforgotpwd 11y ago
  What I mean is "the potential for damage is far greater". Getting access to the right persons email account could shut down roads, power, communication, etc.
- HappyDreamer 11y ago
  Seems you are arguing that it is with 100% certainty not true, because nothing has happened thus far. You don't know what will happen tomorrow though, so you cannot be that certain. Blatant negligence and human factors seems to me to be what to expect, rather than rare exceptions. — Well, not for nuclear plants. But for the power grid for example, and trains and cars and the water pipe system perhaps.

rsync 11y ago

"The danger of critical infrastructure being attacked digitally is already far greater than the risk of say, a bomb attack." This is not true. However, it is important to keep in mind that were it ever true it would be because of blatant negligence on the part of human actors. It is neither obvious nor inevitable that a nuclear plant will ever be attacked digitally because a nuclear plant need not be networked - even internally. It is neither obvious nor inevitable that a hydro dam will ever be attacked digitally because a hydro dam need not be networked - even internally. With an open mind and some creativity this could be true even for things like air traffic control and the power grid. They don't need Internet access. They might not even need IP. If any of these things are fragile to digital attacks it is because they were gratuitously made fragile.

Lawtonfogle 11y ago
One only needs to look at the recent issue with hacking cars to see that it is quite possible. A single bomb, short of a nuke, would do far less damage than a virus attacking certain vehicles. The real issue is the effort needed to acquire the bomb/build the virus. Bombs seem to still have a far lower startup cost, so while you may get less bang for your dollar, they are more popular. Is it popularity or damage/$ that determines what is more dangerous?
omarforgotpwd 11y ago
What I mean is "the potential for damage is far greater". Getting access to the right persons email account could shut down roads, power, communication, etc.
HappyDreamer 11y ago
Seems you are arguing that it is with 100% certainty not true, because nothing has happened thus far. You don't know what will happen tomorrow though, so you cannot be that certain. Blatant negligence and human factors seems to me to be what to expect, rather than rare exceptions. — Well, not for nuclear plants. But for the power grid for example, and trains and cars and the water pipe system perhaps.