A rational approach to "cyber terrorism" and "cyber crime"

If you haven't noticed the frenzy in the press (and on the 'net) about the horrors of cyber "crime" and/or "terrorism" lately you've probably managed to take one of those "disconnected" vacations.

Most of the hype sometimes seems like a frenzied effort to grab a bigger share of the GNP (public and private.)

As is often the case, Robert Lucky outlines the problem and offers a level headed approach in an essay in the September 2010 issue of IEEE Spectrum.

In short, Lucky says:

1) The "good guys" don't have a corner on the market for smart, motivated folks. If an "bad guys" are motivated enough, they will find folks smarter than yours, so:

2) Understand the problem, take reasonable precautions (e.g. design and implement thoughtfully), accept the risk, and prepare for continued operation under degraded circumstances. (After all, that was one of the fundamental design goals of the 'net.