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CriticalInfrastructureistheNewBattlegroundforCyberSecurityByMarkHattononMarch26,2013inShare75TweetTheroadtowardseffectivesecuritybeginswithprettylogicalquestion.Whatdowehavethathackersarelikelytotryandsteal,takeoverormanipulate?Byunderstandingtheprimarymotivationofyouradversary,youarebetterpreparedtodefendagainstanattack.Whenwelookatcybersecurityinthiscountrythroughthelensofthispredictiveanalysis,thelikelytargetsofalarge-scaleattackcomeintofocus.Whiletheymayseemimportanttosomeofus,thefocusofanation-stateattackisnotlikelytobeagainstourcollectiveFacebookpages,TwitterhandlesorLinkedIngroups,butratheragainsttargetswiththeabilitytocreatewide-spreadconfusionandeconomicloss.Inotherwords,it’sourcriticalinfrastructurethatismostatriskofatargetedattackfromasophisticatedadversary.Whenwerefertocriticalinfrastructure,wearereferringtotargetssuchaspowerplants,watertreatmentfacilitiesandtransportationsystems.Theseareconsideredhigh-valuetargetsfrombothaneconomicandmilitarystandpointandassuch,haveinstantsignificanceforcyberattacksfromnation-statesandotherwell-fundedandsophisticatedterroristgroups.Theissuesinvolvedinsecuringinfrastructuresitesareplentifulandvaryfromlocationtolocation,butlet’sfocusonafewkeyareasthatmakethesefacilitiesvulnerable.First,theyareunderconstantattack,continuouslybeingprobedfordefensiveweaknessesandaccesspoints.Tocomplicatematters,theattacksareoftensowelldisguisedthatsomefacilitiesdon’tevenrecognizewhentheyhavebeenprobedorifaweaknesshasbeenidentifiedforfutureexploitation.Secondly,theattackstargetedtowardscriticalinfrastructurearenotrun-of-the-millvirusesorTrojanssentoutacrosstheInternettoblindlyinfectasmanysystemsaspossible.Theyaresophisticatedattacksengineeredforasinglepurposebysomeofthebrightestmindsininformationsecurity.Inmanycases,thesearestate-fundedandtheteamswhocreatethemhaveanearlyendlesssupplyofresourcesattheirdisposal.Manycountries,Chinachiefamongthem,haveinvestedheavilyincyberweaponryinrecentyears,withinformationgatheringandtheabilitytotakedownhigh-valuetargetsatthetopoftheirprioritylists.TheheadlinesofStuxnetorFlamearejustsomeofthemorerecentexamplesofthetypeofattacksnation-statescancreate.Lastly,andperhapsmostworrisome,istheinabilityofthesefacilitiestoidentifynotonlywheretheyarevulnerabletoattack,buttofullyunderstandwhereandhowtheirnetworksareconnectedtotheInternet.Whilethismayseemalmostinconceivablefromtheoutsideperspective,youmustrememberthatmostofthesefacilitiesoperateasinsularoperationscutofffromsystemsoutsideoftheirphysicalsite.Whatwe,asthesecurityindustry,havepointedoutoverthepastseveralyearsisthattoday’smoderncontrolsystems,designedtoprovideoversightandincreasedsafety,actuallyoperateviatheInternetandwereopeningupconnectionsthatcanbeexploitedbyhackers.So,howimminentisamajorcyberattackonU.S.infrastructure?High-rankinggovernmentofficials,includingformerDefenseSecretaryLeonPanetta,haveestimatedthatwewillseeasignificantattackwithinthenext12–18months.Leadersatseverallawenforcementagencieswithinthegovernmenthaveopenlydiscussedinstanceswhereonlineintrudershavegainedaccesstocontrolsystemsforchemical,waterandelectricalplants,aswellascontrolsoftwareforpublictransportationsystems.WhiletheideathatentireregionscouldbeleftwithoutcriticalservicessuchaswaterorpowersoundslikethescriptfromamovieortheinspirationforahitTVdrama,itisnotonlypossible,butlikelyifwedon’ttakethenecessarystepstoprotectourcriticalinfrastructurefromoutsideattack.Toitscredit,thegovernmentrecognizesthisasaseriousthreatandallocatesnotonlythebudgetnecessary,butthetopcybermindsavailableatitdisposal,tohelpaddressit.However,thereismorethatcanandshouldbedoneinordertomaximizeourcyberdefenses.Isuggestbettercoordinationbetweenthegovernmentandprivatesectors.Whilethegovernmentcertainlyhasmoreresourcesatitsdisposalintermsofbudgetdollarsandsophisticatedtechnology,innovationismostoftenthepurviewofprivateindustry.Together,thiscombinationcanbepowerfulalliesinthwartingattacksfromnationstatesbentontakingdowncriticalfacilities.Anotherareaoffocusisbetteroversightandconsolidationofauthoritywhenitcomestocybersecurityforcriticalinfrastructure.Recently,thechairmanoftheUnitedStatesFederalEnergyRegulatoryCommission(FERC),JonWellinghoff,opinedthatthereisalackofauthorityforanagencytoactuponcyberthreats.AccordingtoWellinghoff,“nobodyhasadequateauthoritywithrespecttoelectricandthegasinfrastructureinthiscountryregardingknownvulnerabilities.IfIhadacyber-threatthatwasrevealedtometomorrow,thereislittleIcoulddothenextdaytoensurethatthethreatwasmitigatedeffectivelybythetargetedsite.”Thistome,givenwhatisatstake,isunacceptable.Thereneedstobeasysteminplaceforsharingthreatsandkeyindicatorsofattacksacrossallfacilitiesandamechanismforthesesitestoreportbackonhowthreatswereidentifiedandmitigated.Criticalinfrastructurehasbecomeoneofthemostimportantarenasinthebattleforcybersecurityandunderscoresperhapsthemostimportantpointofall.IfyouareconnectedtotheInternet,youarevulnerabletoacyberattack.RelatedReading:SCADAHoneypotsShedLightonAttacksAgainstCriticalInfrastructureRelatedReading