Fearing the specter of crippling attacks on govern- ment and private sector computer systems, federal officials are stepping up efforts to foil cyber terrorism. A recent solicitation from the Department of Homeland Security's advanced research projects agency, HSARPA, illustrates the weaknesses of current computer systems, and hints at technologies and approaches to shore up gaping vulnerabilities. A close reading of the solicitation illustrates DHS' concern over the lack of tools available to thwart hostile computer acts, whether it be a terrorist hacker manipulating valves at a natural gas refinery, a domestic agitator shutting down a government website or a strike at the national electric grid by a foreign power.
展开▼
