World on Brink of Cyber Cold War

A "cyber cold war" waged over the world's computers threatens to become one of the biggest threats to security in the next decade, according to a report published on Thursday.

About 120 countries are developing ways to use the internet as a weapon to target financial markets, government computer systems and utilities, internet security company McAfee said in an annual report. >> More ..

In yet another article titled "US warned of 'aggressive' Chinese cyberspying, it was mentioned that Chinese espionage poses "the single greatest risk" to US technology, a congressional advisory panel said on Thursday. The panel also called for efforts to protect industrial secrets and computer networks. >> More ..

How To Take Down The Power Grid

Ira Wrinkler, who performs espionage or terrorist simulations (or mundanely known as penetration tests) wrote:

"The first time I broke into our country’s electrical power grid was a decade or so ago. Hacking into the control systems set up by utility companies wasn’t surprising then, and it isn’t surprising now. While people find this shocking, it really isn’t. When you think about how insecure computer infrastructures are, why would you think that the power grid would be any more secure? Frankly, the power grid is even less secure than most other computer networks. I wrote about it many times, including some details in my recent book, Spies Among Us." >> More ..

(Text in bold are my emphasis.)