Cyberterrorism is "a myth"

 

Gallery

By Reuters

Posted on 17 Apr 2008 at 08:42

A top British security official has described cyberterrorism as a "myth".

The claim came at the London security conference at the Royal United Services Institute where delegates were meeting to discuss the growing threat of cyberterrorism.

At the meeting, an Estonian defence official, Christian-Marc Liflander, said sustained electronic attacks on his country were coming from sophisticated "cyberterrorists" sponsored by the Russian government.

However, Stephen Cummings, director of the Government's Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure, countered that he had seen no evidence to suggest terrorists were bent on using cyberattacks to generate the same devastating impact as their physical attacks.

"I think discussion of cyberterrorism distracts our attention from the more pressing terrorist threats, which are still physical," he said in a presentation which included a slide saying "Cyberterrorism is a myth".

"Who knows, if we all talk about cyberterrorism enough, maybe the terrorists will twig on to its potential in a way we wouldn't want them to."

International Collaboration

Despite the differences over terminology, officials stressed the need for international collaboration.

"No one country can stand alone in facing cyberattacks and threats. Cyberspace is borderless and the attack usually does not originate from within," said Husin Jazri, director of CyberSecurity Malaysia,

He said governments and their computer emergency response teams needed to set up "pre-emptive arrangements" to cope with potential attacks.

Estonia, following last year's crisis, has urged the European Union to harmonise laws against cyberattacks to make it easier to prosecute those behind them.

"The attacks were very rapid and there's a tendency to mushroom, so you have to be very agile in your response to them. And your response is only limited if you do it on a national scale - it has to be international as well."