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In today’s high-tech environment, every
institution, corporation, and networked entity is intrinsically
connected to countless others. A rupture in one community can
have cascading effects that impair entire networks. Terrorists
understand the linked nature of our society and have declared
their intention to target individual institutions, corporations,
and infrastructure installations in an attempt to cripple whole
systems. Consequently, the responsibility to mitigate the threat
of such attacks and to defend against breaches that do occur can
no longer be borne exclusively by government authorities.
Private-sector stakeholders are beginning to understand their
role in confronting twenty-first century terrorism. The wonders
of our hyperlinked global infrastructure both afford unprecedented
levels of human connectivity and expose our institutions to insidious
levels of devastation. Rogue elements, sometimes operating under
state sponsorship, can manipulate these very systems to malicious
ends. The disproportionate destructiveness of these forces reveals
other weakness in our systems. Small attacks, costing mere thousands
of dollars to perpetrate, can cause tens of millions in damage.
The need to develop protective systems and strategies to thwart
this destructive potential is now critical for each corporate
and local entity.
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