ISIS plans mass cyber attacks against US Government
Islamic State intends on crippling the United States and their very first cyber-attack is expected to be launched at the national grid, which will effectively take out power for a sufficient period for the group to launch even more devastating attacks. However, it is going to be quite an arduous task because according to the latest report, their efforts are expected to be curbed thanks to the combined efforts of the U.S. military.
According to Alex Kassirer, a Flashpoint terrorism analyst, who’s current job is to monitor conversations on extremist forums has stated that while the group does not possess the dexterous capabilities to launch a cyber warfare against the United States, the terrorist group is slowing cultivating those skills and abiding by their time in order to plan their next move with a slow but steady pace. He states the following:
“The capability’s not there and that’s why we’re seeing these low-level attacks of opportunity. But that’s not to say it’s going to be that way going forward. They’re undoubtedly working on cultivating those skills.”
However, United States does not possess the strongest barrier to hold off against cyber-attacks. Remember the time when nearly 22 million individual records were stolen when hackers believed to be from China and penetrated the government’s central personnel office computers? Yes, that did happen and it accounted for an annual loss of $115 billion, which is no small sum. In order to counter such attacks, the U.S. government spends more than $5 billion per year on cyber defense, and its responsibilities have been divided amongst individuals belonging to departments of Defense and Homeland Security, the National Security Agency and the FBI.
Since Islamic State have been very thorough in covering its tracks concerning the concealment of communications from eavesdropping intelligence agencies, it is going to take more effort in order to curb their activities. A joint meeting where security agencies of several different countries should host a conference where they discuss one primary objective; strengthening their security barrier, otherwise the aftermath could be devastating.
We will continue to update you on the matter, but it appears that Islamic State is taking complete advantage of the security vulnerabilities of the United States.
