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National Cybersecurity Simulation On Hold
John Stith
Staff Writer
2005-10-27
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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said on Wednesday they would be delaying a national cybersecurity test until February due to a reshuffling of resources. The cybersecurity division is about to undergo some major changes but it looks like those changes may be delayed.
Editor's Note: The DHS is responsible for many aspects of national security, including cybersecurity. While it doesn't seem to be a major issue right now, it's imperative they give it more consideration. What do you think? Tell us about it at the Security Forum at WebProWorld.
CNET printed a confirmation from a spokesman for the DHS and quoted him saying:
"While this exercise will be an important test of our readiness to respond to and mitigate a significant cyberattack, our first priority as a department is responding to real world events," spokesman Kirk Whitworth said in an e-mail to CNET News.com. "As a result of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, many of the department's resources, as well as those of the private sector which would have been involved in the Cyberstorm exercise, were reallocated to deal with the disasters in the Gulf."
The DHS has had their plate full in recent months dealing with a particularly virulent run of hurricanes that's ripped up the southeastern United States. Based on recent weather reports, the season, already with a record number of storms, doesn't appear to be over.
The problem though is cybersecurity is real world too. While the disasters along the Gulf Coast were horrific, cybercrime didn't take a break there either, setting up phishing scams to prey on people wanting to help the victims of the hurricanes. ID fraud also remains a problem for people trying to get supplies using credit cards. Many people and industries are always susceptible, especially in emergencies.
And then there all the normal crimes not tied to disasters like Nigerian email fraud, denial of service assaults, the regular phishing scams, worm, viruses and the list goes on. This form of organized crime is big business, it's worldwide and it costs people and companies all over the world tons of money.
While some hackers have been caught in recent months, there are still many more out there with advanced operations. While some of these may be victimless crimes, that's not always the case. Many good people running small businesses or who are retired face the problems and their own naivety causes them harm. Right now, hackers are making significant financial gains, which means the government has its work cut out for it. And it's imperative for it to be sooner, rather than later.
About the Author:
John is a staff writer for SecurityProNews covering cyber security.
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