Noncryptographic Security Issues - Codes: The Guide to Secrecy from Ancient to Modern Times - page 375

Imagine what could happen if such entities were able to gain access to the power
grid of a given nation. They could shut down or disrupt all transportation,
computer networks, power to homes — in short — create a catastrophe. 10.3 If
they were successful, how would the home nation prosecute them? These are
issues with which governments are now trying to grapple, in order to meet the
new challenges of the future. Technology has proven to advance much faster than
the means to make it secure before effective countermeasures against system
attacks are devised.
Cybercrime and E-commerce : Earlier in the text, we looked at numerous
mechanisms for making e-commerce secure. There is good reason for this, of
course. As with the scenario presented at the outset of this chapter, digital
banks can be robbed, too. Your identity may be stolen ( identity theft , see page
202), your bank account drained, or you may be conned by a scam 10.4 artist.
It happens every day to unsuspecting people. In short, if it can happen in the
real world, it can happen in the computer world and then some. Only the venue
changes from the direct attack to the digital attack.
Privacy : Privacy invasion is also an issue, whether it be your medical
records or other sensitive data that is stored on computer network databases.
We have looked at numerous means for securing such information, especially in
the previous chapter. There are many reasons for not wanting your personal
information to be violated, not the least of which is fraud. Even a simple mat-
ter of monitoring your electricity and other utility use could allow a criminal
to deduce when you are on vacation and rob your home. Do not assume that
any amount of personal data is trivial or useless to the criminal element. If
there is a means to use your personal information to extract money it can, and
probably will, be exploited. Therefore, do not give out personal data unless you
absolutely have to do so to a reputable source. Some culprits deal specifically
in gathering personal information via scam “survey”, or “opinion getting”, for
the sole purpose of identity theft. Do not be too trusting of strangers when it
comes to divulging information. A telemarketer is not your friend.
A thief need not be near your home to rob you. There are numerous mar-
keting scams that attempt to entice the unsuspecting into parting with their
money. Some of the most recent are those from various Third World countries
that send you a claim, by e-mail, that they cannot get their money out of the
country. If you would just allow them to deposit their money into your account,
you would be handsomely compensated. Once you give them your digital bank
data, you will find that you are led into a scam (see the discussion of “advance
fee fraud” on page 379). Do not, as the adage goes, believe you have access to
10.3 This actually occurred, without cyberterrorist intervention, in August of 2003 on the
eastern coast of North America, when an overloaded grid caused a domino effect across nearly
the entire eastern front.
10.4 A scam is generally viewed as a fraudulent business scheme. Typically, the perpetrators
promise significant profit for insignificant risk in order to separate a person from their money
or other valuables. Also, a scam may involve one or several individuals, and the scheme is
given the appearance of a legitimate enterprise.