But it may not be long before groups like bin Laden's use their technological expertise to launch a cyber-attack. Terrorism certainly existed before the Internet, but in order to do it, you had to be there. With the Internet, a group in, say, Madras, India, can bring down Con-Ed. Dr. Roche, who believes there will be a major cyber-terrorist attack on the US in the next two years, says it is corporate, rather than government, information structures that are most at risk. There is a very poor sense of security in many of these enterprises.
Intranets are also a real security problem.
And I don't see these factors changing anytime soon. Also, one of the great difficulties in deterring and defending against terrorist attacks is determining the actual source of the attack, says Prof. Richard Harknett of the University of Cincinnati. The potential for anonymity in cyberspace will only make this problem more vexing. If the line is crossed, retaliation can be invited. Back to the hackers.