201305.pdf 43279KB May 08 2013 11:07:04 PM

Special SectionAmerica’sdeclared(andundeclared)cyberwarThe US government is employingseveral tactics to protect nationalinterests from network attacksand data theft.By Bruce GainPresident Barack Obama issued an executiveorder in mid-February to make it easier for“eligible critical infrastructure” companiesand the US government to share informationabout network attacks.As the international cyberwar heats up, theexecutive order represents one of several ways the US governmentis attempting to protect national interests from networkattacks and data theft. It is also the latest development in theUnited States’ reaction to increasingly common attacks thatcould have major implications on the world’s supply chain.The main goal of the executive order is to create moreefficient best practices and policies for protection against“the cyber threat to critical infrastructure, which continuesto grow and represents one of the most seriousnational security challenges we must confront.”The executive order follows an article published in theThe Washington Post about a classified government reportit obtained on international cyberattacks. Foreign governments,especially China, are directly or indirectly sponsoring“massive, sustained” cyberespionage campaigns thatare putting US technology and development secrets atrisk, according to the article.Same hack, different dayHowever, the claims are hardly new. The article in TheWashington Post follows a report issued last year by theOffice of the National Counterintelligence Executive,which monitors espionage against the United States. Whileattacks previously were largely limited to those againstmilitary and government networks, the National CounterintelligenceExecutive maintains that internationalcyberthieves are increasingly stealing US trade secretsfrom private firms and using them to gain an advantagein the undeclared economic war. Attacks originating fromRussia, Israel, and France are also prevalent, but Chinais by far the worst culprit, according to the Office of theNational Counterintelligence Executive.SHUTTERSTOCKS-14 Top 25 Global Distributors May 2013