Cyber Terrorism and Private Sector Efforts for Information Infrastructure Protection

All too often a major computer disruption is described as an act of “cyber terrorism” when it is not, and this has confused discussion on what policies are required to protect electronic information assets, particularly those related to critical infrastructure. This paper discusses concerns evoked by “cyber terrorism” and the assumption that targets of cyber terrorism will include a state’s critical information infrastructure. Critical infrastructure includes the essential human-built assets related to energy, communications and water supply that underpin a state’s survival and well-being. Critical information infrastructure is defined here as the electronic information network components of these essential assets and their connectivity with other major industrial sectors such as banking and transportation. This paper will highlight: 1. what “cyber terrorism” means; 2. the link between critical information infrastructure and “cyber terrorism”; and 3. the role of the private sector in protecting critical information infrastructure with reference to the mechanisms used, for example, during the Year 2000 experience, for global monitoring of computer disruptions.