Black Ice: The Invisible Threat of Cyber Terrorism - Book Report/Review Example

Book Review of Black Ice: The Invisible Threat of Cyber Terrorism In the twenty first century one of the many problems faced by everyone is the different types of terrorism. The world has seen the events of 9/11 with great horror. The incident of 9/11 is a reflection of terrorism in its different form. However, Dan Verton, a journalist and former intelligence officer concerned with Internet security highlights a form of terrorism that has the possibility of doing greater damage to the world. In his book entitled “Black Ice: The Invisible Threat of Cyber Terrorism” Verton talks about cyber terrorism. The book is an investigation of the possibility of cyber terrorism, its global and financial implications, its impact on civil and private infrastructure and the interest of the international terrorist organizations such as Al Qaeda in interfering with the cyber infrastructure of the United States. Black Ice is packed with fictional scenes, commentaries and interviews by leading government officials related to national security. Even the Al Qaeda supporters are given a place in the book, which makes the book different and interesting. The book reflects the author’s extensive research on the topic. The book discusses an important issue of the modern world i.e. IT security is a national security issue. According to Thompson (2003), people still discard the idea of cyber attacks. Thompson believes that the main point of Verton’s book is to make the people aware of the possibility of a cyber attack. Verton believes that the terrorists are moving with the pace of the world and are developing a new generation of cyber attacks. He argues in his book that the consequences of such attacks would be far worse than our imagination because we do not take them seriously and guard ourselves against them. Verton gives various examples in his book to support his argument. In 1996, a Swedish teenager made so many calls to 911 that it hung up their system. On another occasion, a teenager was caught developing a soft ware that could automatically make flood of calls to 911. According to Thompson (2003) Verton intends to highlight the intensity of a cyber attack. Verton believes that Al Qaeda would use the cyber world as a means to attack the real world. Such a kind of attack will have greater casualties coupled with other forms of terrorism. As Thompson writes, “Verton envisions “swarming attacks”, a combination of virtual and physical blows.” One of the important points of the book is the interdependency of the infrastructure of the country. If the main gas pipeline were destroyed, the electrical plants would lose their energy. The break down of electricity would lead to the shut down of the telecommunication system and many other industries. Verton highlights the vulnerability of the cyber infrastructure in the United States. According to him, the computers all over the country are not properly guarded. Any one from any part of the world could mess up with the computers and retrieve important information. According to Thompson (2003), Verton intends to highlight the fact that the national security is at the mercy of “a rather indifferent free market (Verton, 2003).” This would make the government vulnerable and incapable of handling the situation after a cyber attack. The publishers’ note printed in the book reveals the views of different government officials who agree with Verton as it says: “This compelling work will add much to the national debate on homeland security issues. Verton argues forcefully and convincingly that real-time intelligence sharing is the key to ensuring that the high-tech future of terrorism does not become like black ice stretched across the information superhighway­­ alerting us to its presence only after we are spinning out of control.” (Publishers’ note, Black Ice) According to Richard A. Clarke, the book “Reveals a real threat to Homeland Security that the Feds are not fixing.” Howard A. Schmidt, former Chair, Presidents Critical Infrastructure Protection Board, and Cyber Security Advisor for the White House states: “Dan Verton has ‘connected the dots’ like no one else can. He has written this book in such a way that it is relevant to the masses as well as the security experts. [This is] a ‘must-read’ as it contains a clear message: there is much to be done on the cyber security front to protect us from ‘weapons of mass disruptions’.” (Publishers’ note, Black Ice) According to MacDonnell Ulsch, Managing Director of Janus Risk Management, Inc., and a former Trusted Advisor to the United States Secrecy Commission, “ [This book is] one of near incomparable importance in an uncertain post-September 11th world. Black Ice may be the most important book we read in a long while, because it brings to the immediate attention of the leaders of government and commerce a sense of electric urgency and of the consequences of inaction.” (Publishers’ note, Black Ice) Although the book discusses some important issues related to national security, still the book has been criticized for many reasons. Richard Chirgwin (2004) believes that the book consists of “ an exaggerated and distorted view of security”. Chirgwin evaluates the book in detail. Black Ice opens with a fictional scenario and the descriptions are quite scary. The first chapter discusses the possibility of a cyber attack and what would happen in a situation of widespread terrorist attacks in America. The author picks up another report in chapter two where the focus is on the different exercises that were designed to analyze the dependency of the infrastructure in America. Chirgwin (2004) criticizes the report on different exercises. According to him: “ It appears from Vertons report of the exercises, American public safety officials were unaware of how interdependent the infrastructure has become, then its no surprise that the exercises horrified their sponsors – because interdependency has become a recurring theme in the world of cyber-security.” Chirgwin (2004) believes that Verton scares a common reader by revealing such facts that are well known to every one. Verton unnecessarily drags such information in the book that is known to every IT expert. Furthermore, the source that Verton cites most frequently is Verton himself. Chirgwin points out 65 different occasions in the book where the author has cited himself. According to Thomas C. Greene (2004), Verton’s sources are either himself or the bureaucrats related with cyber terrorism. There has been no attempt to present counter argument in the book. It lacks any skeptical argument and hardly acknowledges the fact that there are valid arguments questioning cyber terrorism and its significance. A close look at the publishers’ note would reveal the fact that those people who are Verton’s source of information such as Richard Clarke and Howard Schmidt have praised Verton’s book. Verton has conducted his research among like-minded people and he his not ready to view their comments with skepticism. Chirgwin writes: “Where hes not scrambling technology, Verton is wandering around people he knows in the intelligence and security communities and endorsing whatever they have to say.” Greene (2004) comments that there are no opposing views in the book. On page 96, we are told that we can safely “discard the opinions” of skeptics about cyber terrorism but we are not told why. It appears that the author wants to convince his readers that they should worry about cyber terrorism because important government officials such as Richard Clarke, Howard Schmidt, and Tom Ridge are concerned about it. According to Greene, “The book spends a great deal of time talking about al-Qaeda and radical jihadists in general, showing us what creeps they are, as if we didnt already know, and speculating that if these creatures ever decided to blow up power stations and telephone infrastructure, or become elite hackers, wed all be in serious trouble”. According to Chirgwin (2004), Verton has not bothered himself for a second opinion. Critics are dismissed not on the basis of evidence but with sneer. They are wrong not because they misquote the facts but because they are the people “who believe naively that terrorist-sponsored cyber-attacks are a thing of fantasy”. On another occasion he writes, “media accounts … are often filled with officials who are trying to talk people out of their fears” and dismisses these views with extensive self citations to backup his argument. Most of the passages in the book lack proper information about the issue under discussion. For example, in the book Verton (2003) talks about taping an optical fiber to retrieve the data. He writes: “Optical taps placed in public and private optical networks would allow unfettered access to all communications and information transmitted across the fiber backbone, according to Page. “Available cheap and legally worldwide from various manufacturers, optical taps currently provide an excellent method of intercepting such data with virtually no chance of being detected and therefore a very low-risk chance of the intruder being caught,” according to Page. More importantly, most optical network equipment manufacturers and carrier networks do not incorporate protection and detection technologies to monitor such network breaches in real time, nor safeguard the optical signal, and therefore cannot hinder the extraction of sensitive data.” According to Chirgwin (2004), taping an optical fiber in order to retrieve information without getting detected is not as easy as is described by Verton. At the same time he criticizes Verton’s lack of knowledge for such products like OTDR’s “whose precise and long-standing purpose is to let engineers and technicians in a telecommunications carrier test the condition of a fiber, locate breaks, and look for anomalies in the cables behavior (such as unexpected signal loss or changes in optical impedance).” It appears that Verton is trying to fool the people with discussion of technology and exploiting their ignorance to intensify the fear of threat. On various occasions Verton has needlessly tried to impress the reader by describing technology in different ways. As Chirgwin (2004) writes: “whats the difference between a radio signal, a wireless signal and a satellite signal? I dont know, but Verton thinks there is one.” Verton is trying to impress the simpletons rather than explaining why cyber security is important for every person. Another point highlighted by Chirgwin (2004) and Greene (2004) while discussing the book is the number of contradictory statements in the book. On one occasion Verton dismisses an NSA manager, William Black Junior, on the point that he was a career NSA veteran who spent three years in the private sector. But he accepts Richard Clarke as his primary source who holds a CV similar to that of Black. Verton continues to inform his readers that America is ill prepared but he finds one of the architects of that ill preparedness, Ed Badolado, suitable as a source for his book. As Chirgwin (2004) writes: “So one of the people who helped create an ill-prepared America is now a trusted source of information for Black Ice.” In Black Ice, whenever Verton writes about cyber terror, it is in the form of a fictional scenario. Greene (2004) believes that the book is hollow from inside and that Verton has used a lot of exaggeration while discussing the fictional scenario. Since the world is yet to experience cyber terror attack, Greene (2004) believes that “theres little one can say about it from a strictly factual point of view - certainly not enough to fill a book.” There is no point in denying the fact that cyber terrorism could be a serious threat to the present world. But many of Verton’s fictional scenarios are greatly speculative as they are highlighted with sensationalism. The book is undoubtedly the out come of a good research. Unfortunately it ends up being one sided and without holding any counter arguments on various points. It is a fun to read and can give a good scare to innocent masses. The book can be read to develop a concept about what cyber terrorism is and what dangers it can pose to the real world. However, it would be always considered wise to read counter arguments of experts on the issue before being persuaded. References Chirgwin, Richard. Confusion and Paranoia, Review: Black Ice, Commsworld, (March 4, 2004) Retrieved on April 10, 2006 from http://www.globalsecurity.org/org/news/2004/040304-commentary.htm Greene, Thomas C. Cyber Terror Drama Skates on thin Black Ice, The Register, (February 25, 2004) Retrieved on April 10, 2006 from http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/02/25/cyberterror_drama_skates_on_thin/ Thompson, Clive. Black Ice: The Invisible Threat of Cyber-Terrorism, Washington Post, (August 12, 2003), Retrieved on April 10, 2006 from http://www.crime-research.org/news/2003/08/Mess1203.html Verton, Dan. Black Ice: The Invisible Threat of Cyber-Terrorism, McGraw-Hill Osborne Media, (2003). Read More