Fears concerning online security have grown in the last few years. Digital identities and the data attached to them have become valuable resources for hackers to steal, begging the question of whether cyber terrorism is the latest threat to national security.

But is the threat of cyber war real, or is it just fear-mongering created so the public will concede more private data to governmental control?

In the United States, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has been urging Congress to pass legislation to give the government more control of information online, warning of a “cyber 9/11.” In October, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta warned of a “cyber Pearl Harbor” by foreign hackers.

The Pentagon is planning to expand its cyber security force during the next few years, from 900 employees to 4,900, in order to defend the nation’s critical computer systems and conduct offensive operations against foreign adversaries, according to a January article in The Washington Post.

We’re not the only country responding to these Internet-era fears, as Russia’s long-standing president, Vladimir Putin, also spoke of arming the country against the threat. Australia’s prime minister, Julia Gillard, has committed up to $1.4 billion to help defend the country’s most sensitive networks.

In the private sector, there have been a series of reported attacks on U.S.-based news organizations by foreign hackers.

Last week, The New York Times revealed that during the last four months, it has been repeatedly attacked by Chinese hackers. The attacks coincided with the newspaper publishing an investigative report that revealed relatives of Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao tried to hide a massive family fortune.

The computer security company Mandiant, which eventually expelled the hackers, noted the tactics they used to hide their movements — routing through computers at U.S. universities — has been associated with the Chinese military in the past.

The hackers were able to install 45 pieces of custom malware, all but one of which bypassed the company’s antivirus software, stole all of the employee’s corporate passwords, and gained access to the personal computers of 53 employees.

Mandiant published a report in December that said Chinese hackers began targeting Western journalists in 2008 in order to identify and intimidate sources that might hurt the reputation of Chinese officials.

Last year, Bloomberg News was also hacked after publishing an article about China’s former Vice President Xi Jinping’s family wealth, and similar attacks were reported this month on The Wall Street Journal. The Washington Post also revealed they found evidence of a sophisticated cyber attack in 2011.

Executive Chairman of Google Eric Schmidt believes criminals will increasingly begin to virtually kidnap people by taking their online identities for ransom money. But, Schmidt thinks terrorists will have a difficult time covering their digital footprints.

I’m not sure whether it is really foreign adversaries these governments are afraid of as much as the potential anarchy of their own people. In the U.S. Armed Forces Journal, analyst Peter Singer likens the threat of cyber terrorism to the “Shark Week” of defense rhetoric.

Yes, network security is important. But the reality of threat is completely overblown and has not yet resulted in the kinds of human casualties on par with physical attacks like Pearl Harbor or Sept. 11.

Those who are speaking openly about the threat of cyber terrorism are also the ones who have the most to gain from the fear of it. We must be cautious in entertaining this largely psychological threat, or we will be driven even further into the comfortless arms of Big Brother.

Kat Smith is a senior creative advertising major. Her column appears weekly. She can be reached at [email protected] or by telepathy, if possible. 

Published on February 7, 2013 at 1:45 am