Cyber Warfare
By: Donna McFadden
Local college students are on the front-lines in the battle against
cyber terrorism — a fact divulged to the nation on a recent
"60 Minutes" episode.
The April 9 show broadcast a segment on Internet security —called
"Cyber Warfare" —that opened with a shot of Stewart
Corbin, a graduate of Las Positas, and Garrett Gee, a student
at Diablo Valley College. Shown at a computer terminal, they
were conducting mock Internet attacks, much like the ones recently
launched against Yahoo and E-bay. The simulation was startling.
After breaking-in, the pair required less than one minute to
shut down the target site.
CBS's all-day filming took place at Sandia National Laboratories,
where LPC students are currently participating in a computer
internship program called College Cyber Defenders.
The focus of the program is to create a "pipeline to employment,"
helping Sandia to fill a pressing need for computer science graduates
who will assist growing information-security needs.
The internship idea was hatched from a collaboration among the
defense department, faculty members at Las Positas and Chabot,
and two Sandia computer security gurus, Fred Cohen and Dick Isler.
Cohen coined the term "computer virus" and has devised
many of the defenses used to thwart them today. He mentors students
at the Sandia program and teaches classes on topics related to
computer and network security.
Of the 15 College Cyber Defenders, ten are from LPC —a number
that is bound to grow when the program reaches a projected 25
students by summer. It will be self-sustaining, with newcomers
mentored by more experienced participants.
One currently enrolled LPC student, Eric Thomas, says the skills
he is learning are invaluable for today's interconnected business
world.
"You need to understand attacks to understand defense,"
he said. "A lot of the projects we do, we think of ourselves.
Working here has made me a lot more confident."
LaVon Dayton, a computer science student at LPC who began the
internship about a month and a half ago, expressed similar sentiments.
"Every single day that I've been involved in this program,
I've learned something new."
The students are paid as they learn at Sandia, and the skills
they gain will put them on the fast track for jobs at high-tech
companies. Many savvy employers have already formed ethical hacking
units and risk assessment teams to deal with network security
threats.
Reports of the burgeoning computer security industry sound straight
out of a
spy novel.
NBC news recently profiled a new secret center designed to help
companies conduct business safe from terrorism and cyber-terrorism.
The center is housed in an undisclosed location in San Jose.
Sandia-trained students might well work there one day, protected
by security features based on those used at the Pentagon, where
bomb barricades surround the building.
All this elaborate security is intended to ensure continuity
in e-commerce, an industry projected to reach $2 trillion in
sales within five years.
This points to how dependent the United States has become on
computers and the Internet. During the recent "60 Minutes"
segment, government officials warned that our country's infrastructure
— power grids, water and phone systems, air traffic control,
and financial institutions - are all vulnerable to an attack
via the Internet.
According to a presidential commission on critical infrastructure,
a command sent to a power station's control computer could be
just as devastating as a backpack full of explosives.
The most frightening aspect of a computer assault lies in its
anonymity. Cyber attacks can come from a laptop on the other
side of the earth and be motivated by some radical ideology.
They could also come from within the same building by someone
motivated by revenge. The result could be anything from a fire
in a Texas oil refinery to a lethal dose of medication in a San
Francisco hospital.
The unpredictable nature of cyber-attacks means the government
is out-manned and overwhelmed —and the hackers know it.
At a recent press club meeting, cofounder and director of Yahoo,
Jerry Yang, said "threats to the U.S. infrastructure are
very serious issues —no longer child's play."
This spells danger, but also opportunity for grown—up students
who want to pursue careers in the lucrative and fascinating field
of computer security.
That's why Corbin, who got his 30 seconds of fame on the "60
Minutes" program, got involved with College Cyber Defenders
in the first place.
"It sounded really exciting," says Corbin "I knew
I needed hands-on computer experience. It is only in applying
knowledge that you really start to understand the theories you
learn at school."
Students candidates for the internship program must be computer
science majors, currently enrolled in a community college or
university, have a 3.0 GPA and be a U.S. citizen. For more information
log on to education.ca.sandia.gov/ccd.
Copyright
© 2000 by Las Positas College Express