Sabotaging The System
November 8, 2009 5:00 PM
Could hackers get into the computer systems that run crucial elements of the world's infrastructure, such as the power grids, water works or even a nation's military arsenal? Steve Kroft reports.
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See all 55 CommentsI wrote Congressman Langevin, who was prominently featured in this report, nearly a year ago describing a horrendous security gap in the protections applied to a data repository managed by a private-sector organization. That repository contains the most sensitive personal information imaginable on 98% of the officers in all branches of the military, most of the enlisted personnel, and most of the personnel currently employed by the CIA, NSA, and FBI (along with most other federal agencies). My report explained how the most privileged levels of access to that data had been turned over to personnel in a foreign country, and how the organization?s other security countermeasures where both woefully inadequate and naive.
As a taxpayer and citizen, I was horrified by what I had found. I felt that I had a moral obligation to inform someone that serious security gaps exposed sensitive personal information pertaining to the people who defend this nation.
I never received any kind of reply. After waiting more than a month, I called Congressman Langevin?s office and was referred by an aid to the Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS), where my call was then routed to voice mail. DHS never returned my call.
From my personal perspective, I have difficulty believing that Congress is doing little more than grandstanding and FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) mongering on the issues of information security.
As for CBS News implementation of this site... it s*cks. Either follow Google/YouTube or fire the goons running this site and find someone who can push the data to a user with limited resources.
At the risk of seeming naive, the segment on hacking the US computer system to death, I was shaken hearing it laid out like that in a step-by-step format, with experiments and examples to back it up....as if it were a scientific experiment. It's not that I think it was new information, and the huge and serious hackers of course know all this but I fear the smaller, more radical, hate-trained cowards (my word for terrorist) would have the stupidity and the stones to actually learn from this.
I love America for its obssession with truth, as that is how I too conduct my life, but really? Do we need to lay it out that clearly?
America has been a tremendous ally to Canada and a good neighbor, and I'd like to think it'll be around and healthy for as long as we know freedom.
Sincerely, Marlene Shiff, Toronto, Canada
Until Febury 2009 John M. (Mike) McConnell was Cheif of National Inteligence and oversaw the Central Inteligence Agency the Defense Inteligence Agency and the National Security Agency.
This guy was responsible for the problem and now his company will profit from the solution!
John M. (Mike) McConnell is NOW Executive Vice President and leader of the National Security Business for Booz Allen Hamilton!
How convenient!
They will probably use this scare tactic to put limitations on the internet. Just like they used scare tactics to convince us to wage war.
Take the damn systems off of the internet for crying out loud, ***?!!!
I think everyone needs to read this article that just so happened to be 3 days after the airing of the Sabotage hackers.-A concerned citizen
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