Dramatic increases in computer interconnectivity, especially in the use of the Internet, continue to revolutionize the way our government, our nation, and much of the world communicate and conduct business. The benefits have been enormous. Vast amounts of information are now literally at our fingertips, facilitating research on virtually every topic imaginable; financial and other business transactions can be executed almost instantaneously, often 24 hours a day, and electronic mail, Internet Web sites, and computer bulletin boards allow us to communicate quickly and easily with an unlimited number of individuals and groups. However, this widespread interconnectivity poses significant risks to the government’s and our nation’s computer systems and, more important, to the critical operations and infrastructures they support. For example, telecommunications, power distribution systems, water supplies, public health services, national defense (including the military’s warfighting capability), law enforcement, government services, and emergency services all depend on the security of their computer operations. If not properly controlled, the speed and accessibility that create the enormous benefits of the computer age may allow individuals and organizations to eavesdrop on or interfere with these operations from remote locations for mischievous or malicious purposes, including fraud or sabotage. Table 1 summarizes the key threats to our nation’s infrastructures, as observed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Government officials remain concerned about attacks from individuals and groups with malicious intent, such as crime, terrorism, foreign intelligence gathering, and acts of war. According to the FBI, terrorists, transnational criminals, and intelligence services are quickly becoming aware of and using information exploitation tools such as computer viruses, Trojan horses, worms, logic bombs, and eavesdropping sniffers that can destroy, intercept, degrade the integrity of, or deny access to data. In addition, the disgruntled organization insider is a significant threat, because these individuals often have knowledge about the organization and its system that allows them to gain unrestricted access and inflict damage or steal assets without knowing a great deal about computer intrusions. As larger amounts of money and more sensitive economic and commercial information are exchanged electronically, and as the nation’s defense and intelligence communities increasingly rely on standardized information technology (IT), the likelihood increases that information attacks will threaten vital national interests. As the number of individuals with computer skills has increased, more intrusion or “hacking” tools have become readily available and relatively easy to use. A hacker can download tools from the Internet and literally “point and click” to start an attack. Experts agree that there has been a steady advance in the level of sophistication and effectiveness of attack technology. Intruders quickly develop attacks to exploit vulnerabilities that have been discovered in products, use these attacks to compromise computers, and share them with other attackers. In addition, they can combine these attacks with other forms of technology to develop programs that automatically scan networks for vulnerable systems, attack them, compromise them, and use them to spread the attack even further. From 1995 through 2003, the CERT Coordination Center (CERT/CC) reported 12,946 security vulnerabilities that resulted from software flaws. Figure 1 illustrates the dramatic growth in security vulnerabilities over these years. The growing number of known vulnerabilities increases the potential for attacks by the hacker community. Attacks can be launched against specific targets or widely distributed through viruses and worms. Along with these increasing vulnerabilities, the number of computer security incidents reported to CERT/CC has also risen dramatically—from 9,859 in 1999 to 82,094 in 2002 and to 137,529 in 2003. And these are only the reported attacks. The Director of the CERT Centers has estimated that as much as 80 percent of actual security incidents goes unreported, in most cases because (1) there were no indications of penetration or attack, (2) the organization was unable to recognize that its systems had been penetrated, or (3) the organization was reluctant to report. Figure 2 shows the number of incidents that were reported to the CERT/CC from 1995 through 2003. According to the National Security Agency (NSA), foreign governments already have or are developing computer attack capabilities, and potential adversaries are developing a body of knowledge about U.S. systems and methods to attack these systems. The National Infrastructure Protection Center (NIPC) reported in January 2002 that a computer belonging to an individual who had indirect links to Osama bin Laden contained computer programs that indicated that the individual was interested in the structural engineering of dams and other water-retaining structures. The NIPC report also stated that U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies had received indications that Al Qaeda members had sought information about control systems from multiple Web sites, specifically on water supply and wastewater management practices in the United States and abroad. Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, warnings of the potential for terrorist cyber attacks against our critical infrastructures have increased. For example, in his February 2002 statement for the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, the Director of Central Intelligence discussed the possibility of a cyber warfare attack by terrorists. He stated that the September 11 attacks demonstrated the nation’s dependence on critical infrastructure systems that rely on electronic and computer networks. Further, he noted that attacks of this nature would become an increasingly viable option for terrorists as they and other foreign adversaries become more familiar with these targets and the technologies required to attack them. James Woolsey, a former Director of Central Intelligence, shares this concern, and on October 29, 2003, in a speech before several hundred security experts, he warned that the nation should be prepared for continued terrorist attacks on our critical infrastructures. Moreover, a group of concerned scientists warned President Bush in a letter that “the critical infrastructure of the United States, including electrical power, finance, telecommunications, health care, transportation, water, defense and the Internet, is highly vulnerable to cyber attack. Fast and resolute mitigating action is needed to avoid national disaster.” According to a study by a computer security organization, during the second half of 2002, the highest rates of global computer attacks were for those aimed at companies that provide critical infrastructures such as power, energy, and financial services. Further, a study that surveyed over 170 security professionals and other executives concluded that, across industries, respondents believe that a large-scale cyber attack in the United States will be launched against their industry by mid-2006. Control systems are computer-based systems that are used within many infrastructures and industries to monitor and control sensitive processes and physical functions. Typically, control systems collect sensor measurements and operational data from the field, process and display this information, and relay control commands to local or remote equipment. In the electric power industry, control systems can manage and control the generation, transmission, and distribution of electric power— for example, by opening and closing circuit breakers and setting thresholds for preventive shutdowns. Employing integrated control systems, the oil and gas industry can control the refining operations at a plant site, remotely monitor the pressure and flow of gas pipelines, and control the flow and pathways of gas transmission. Water utilities can remotely monitor well levels and control the wells’ pumps; monitor flows, tank levels, or pressure in storage tanks; monitor water quality characteristics—such as pH, turbidity, and chlorine residual; and control the addition of chemicals. Control systems also are used in manufacturing and chemical processing. Control systems perform functions that vary from simple to complex; they can be used simply to monitor processes— for example, the environmental conditions in a small office building—or to manage most activities in a municipal water system or even a nuclear power plant. In certain industries, such as chemical and power generation, safety systems are typically implemented in order to mitigate a potentially disastrous event if control and other systems should fail. In addition, to guard against both physical attack and system failure, organizations may establish backup control centers that include uninterruptible power supplies and backup generators. There are two primary types of control systems. Distributed Control Systems (DCS) typically are used within a single processing or generating plant or over a small geographic area. Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems typically are used for large, geographically dispersed distribution operations. For example, a utility company may use a DCS to generate power and a SCADA system to distribute it. Figure 3 illustrates the typical components of a control system. A control system typically is made up of a “master” or central supervisory control and monitoring station consisting of one or more human-machine interfaces where an operator can view status information about the remote/local sites and issue commands directly to the system. Typically, this station is located at a main site, along with application servers and an engineering workstation that is used to configure and troubleshoot the other components of the control system. The supervisory control and monitoring station typically is connected to local controller stations through a hard-wired network or to a remote controller station through a communications network—which could be the Internet, a public switched telephone network, or a cable or wireless (e.g., radio, microwave, or Wi-Fi) network. Each controller station has a remote terminal unit (RTU), a programmable logic controller (PLC), or some other controller that communicates with the supervisory control and monitoring station. The control system also includes sensors and control equipment that connect directly with the working components of the infrastructure—for example, pipelines, water towers, or power lines. The sensor takes readings from the infrastructure equipment—such as water or pressure levels, electrical voltage or current—and sends a message to the controller. The controller may be programmed to determine a course of action and send a message to the control equipment instructing it what to do—for example, to turn off a valve or dispense a chemical. If the controller is not programmed to determine a course of action, the controller communicates with the supervisory control and monitoring station and relays instructions back to the control equipment. The control system also can be programmed to issue alarms to the operator when certain conditions are detected.