By Richard Teasdale
DACS broke new ground at the July General meeting, with a speaker who was remote from the audience. Ira Wilsker, an expert on Internet Security, spoke to us for over an hour from Texas, on the threats to the United States posed by hackers based in China and elsewhere. As Ira gave his narration via speakerphone in the auditorium, Andy Woodruff, a DACS board member, projected his presentation slides to the audience. The remote presentation was a further step in the developing DACS strategy to expand the reach and availability of General meetings, following the videotaping for broadcast of several recent meetings.
Ira Wilsker is an Associate Professor in the Business Department at Lamar Institute of Technology in Beaumont, Texas, where he teaches courses in business, law, and computers. He has given several presentations on cyber security and cyber war. Ira has served the Association of Personal Computer User Groups (of which DACS is a member) as an Advisor and Director, and is part of the Speakers Bureau.
The major objective of Prof. Wilsker’s talk was to alert the audience to the magnitude of the problem that we face. Accordingly, the majority of his presentation was devoted to a catalog of ways in which the cyber infrastructure of the United States has been penetrated and compromised by foreign-based hackers. The highlights were as follows.
- Personnel data on 4.2 million current and former federal workers were stolen from the Office of Personnel Management. In a separate incident, “adjudication” data on 18 million applicants for security clearances were stolen. The personnel data were stolen by a hacking group working for the Chinese government (but not Chinese military hackers, who typically go after defense and trade information).
- Russian hackers have penetrated servers in the White House, stealing information from the General Counsel’s office, Presidential schedules, and other data.
- Iran and Saudi Arabia are engaged in a cyber war against each other, but Iran’s cyber offensive is targeted against other countries too, including the U.S.
- Hacking is done both by individuals and by foreign governments but the distinction is often blurred by the fact that in some countries, individual hackers are coerced into cooperation with their home governments and forced to share information that they steal.
- The U.S. Army’s official website and the websites of a number of news organizations have been disabled and/or defaced by a hacking group that calls itself the Syrian Electronic Army.
- Many attacks have been mounted against U.S. retailers’ point-of-sale (POS) systems, often resulting in major data thefts from them. POS malware is widely sold over the internet.
- Counterfeiting and theft of credit cards are rampant.
- The Chinese government has hacked various U.S. news media, in order to monitor and intimidate Chinese citizens who talk to western media organizations.
- Hacking of U.S. companies for economic intelligence has been conducted by various foreign countries but all others pale into insignificance when compared to the volume of such hacks coming from China. The purpose of the hacks: to steal research and development information. The risk for the U.S.: the loss of our economic competitiveness.
- China has hacked Pentagon computers and those of U.S. defense contractors, e.g. Lockheed Martin, to obtain key intelligence about weapons programs, such as the F-35 stealth fighter jet. Terabytes of information were stolen. The risk for the U.S.: compromise of key components of our defense capability.
- S. infrastructure systems, e.g. power grids, water systems, sewer systems, telecommunications systems, have been hacked and pieces of malware installed for sabotage purposes during a possible future conflict. A coordinated attack by a foreign power or even a “Cyber Jihad”, mounted by terrorists, could shut down the entire country. Ira illustrated the scale of the damage that might be done by comparing the localized impact of disasters such as hurricanes Katrina and Sandy to the effects of an attack that shuts down critical infrastructure nationwide.
Having discussed the key vulnerabilities of the United States, Ira initiated a discussion phase of the meeting, in which he took questions from the audience. The discussion was kicked off by asking a number of key questions:
Are we really under cyber attack?
- Which foreign powers and organizations are our key adversaries?
- What can they do to us?
- What can we do about it?
- How can we protect ourselves?
Questions from the audience, with Ira’s answers, included:
Q: How are financial companies faring?
A: It’s as big a problem for them as for everyone else. For example, a few years ago, a well-known financial company based in Boston decided in secret to bear the loss of $74 million stolen by hackers from its account holders, instead of facing a potentially disastrous loss of public confidence in the company’s stability and ability to continue its operations.
Q: Most hackers gain access via the internet. Why not disconnect from the internet?
A: Too expensive.
Q: Why is it so difficult / expensive to disconnect?
A: Because so much new hardware infrastructure would be required.
Q: Does the U.S. government hack targets in other countries?
A: Yes, but the U.S. is the most vulnerable nation because we have more cyber infrastructure and more information to steal than anybody else.
Q: How can we protect ourselves (on an individual level)?
A: Practice safe computing, use good security software, beware of phishing attacks, limit the amount of personal information you post online (Facebook etc.). Some people are stockpiling to prepare themselves for long-term unavailability of power, water, groceries, etc.
Q: How secure are the new credit cards with RFID chips that are replacing swipe cards? A: The new cards are just as vulnerable to hacking as the old ones. Unlike the chip+PIN cards that are used in Europe, US chip-based credit cards use RFID technology that allows them to be hacked by someone close by with a scanner.
Q: Have you contacted any local politicians about the problems?
A: Yes, and they are very aware of the issues. The lack of action to address them comes down to an unwillingness to spend the money needed.