The Internet was the main point of attack. Anybody can get you anywhere One reason for the problem is the speed at which the Internet has grown, Roche says. These holes can then be exploited by terrorists or foreign governments. If, instead of attacking military systems and databases, an enemy attacked unprotected civilian infrastructure, the economic and military results would be disastrous, warned the 1994 Joint Security Commission's Report on Redefining Security. More than 95 percent of defense and intelligence community voice and data traffic uses the public telephone systems.
Most security experts say that the real number of attacks is higher.
A private computer security firm hired by the US government found that a foreign nation had attempted to use computers to change the composition of tensile steel in an American steel-manufacturing plant. The aim was to cause the steel to crack when side stresses were placed on it during freezing conditions. The manufacturer was unable to find out who broke into its system because the attack came through a vendor integrated into the company's network. Also 1997's Operation Eligible Receiver demonstrated the potential vulnerability of the US government's information systems. The National Security Agency hired 35 hackers to launch simulated attacks on the national information structure.