A Brief History of Cybercrime and Cyberwarfare - The Technical and Social History of Software Engineering - page 394

• Accuracy of statewide tabulation of results
• Accuracy of national results
If each of these steps has a 1% probability of error, the full sequence of all
steps might be off by 10%, which is more than enough to change election results.
Currently, no one, including state officials and election boards, truly knows if our
votes are being accurately counted and tabulated.
Cyberwarfare Against Civilian Targets
Readers may wonder why cyberwarfare should be a concern to civilians. The reas-
on is that civilian targets are important to national economies and to defense pre-
paration. They may also have less sophisticated defenses than military targets. In
the United States, our telephone systems, our electric power generation and trans-
mission systems, and our air and rail transportation systems are important com-
ponents of military preparedness. They are also spotty in defenses against cyber-
attacks. Our financial systems are also a critical part of the national economy and
are also spotty in defenses against cyberattacks. Recent web security reports in-
dicate that U.S. banks and financial systems are prime targets for hacking by other
national governments such as China, North Korea, and Iran.
Consider the impact of a successful cyberattack in winter on New England's
electric power and communication systems that could shut these systems down for
a two-week period. Without power, many stores would be closed and it would not
be possible to purchase fuel and possibly food. Air and rail travel would be dis-
rupted due to passengers not being able to make reservations, and there could also
be possible airport and train station closures.
Within about a week, pipes would begin to freeze and burst in homes and
office buildings. Without fuel, some automobiles and trucks would be abandoned
wherever they stopped, which would interfere with road traffic. Snow plowing
might stop. Food shortages would soon follow, possibly accompanied by thefts
and riots. Within about two weeks, emergency generators would begin to fail at
hospitals (unless they used natural gas). Thousands of patients might have to be
relocated.
No doubt martial law would have to be declared, and emergency supplies
would need to be brought in by military helicopters. Very likely, there would be
deaths among the homeless and elderly who could not make it to emergency shel-
ters. Billions of dollars of financial losses would accrue to businesses and indi-