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IT professionals fear cyber terror attacks, say more preparations needed

© Alan Kotok

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If any group in our population knows and feels the dependence on information systems and the importance of systems security, particularly after 11 September 2001, it is the information technology (IT) professionals who develop and maintain all of these systems. As a recent poll shows however, IT pros, as a group, say we can expect more attacks on U.S. government systems, and they blame the government itself for not being adequately prepared.

Survey results: expect more cyber attacks

A survey by the Business Software Alliance (BSA) conducted in June 2002, shows about half (49%) of the nearly 400 IT professionals sampled say it is likely that the U.S. government will be subject to a major cyber-attack in the next 12 months. Moreover, the IT pros who specialize in security are even more pessimistic; about six in 10 (59%) of the respondents that work directly with system or Internet security feel a major cyber-attack is likely within the next year.

As a group, these technical specialists feel the U.S. government needs to protect its vital systems from hackers, but they are not sanguine about the preparations made by officials to prevent or deal with these attacks. When asked to rate this requirement, nearly all (88%) of those surveyed rated the need to protect sensitive information as "extremely important." While technical pros agree with the need for taking precautions, so far at least, they are not happy with actions taken. In fact, a majority (55%) of those surveyed feel that the risk of a major cyber-attack on the U.S. has increased since 11 September, whereas only 7% feel the risk has decreased.

But U.S. government agencies are not ready

The IT professional community's dim view of official preparations is reflected in other survey results. About seven in 10 (72%) respondents say there is a gap between the threat of a major cyber attack in the U.S. and the government's ability to defend against a major cyber-attack. Among the security professionals, as before, the view is gloomier; more than eight in 10 (84%) cite a gap between the threat of an attack and the government's ability to defend against it.

The most analogous situation to the threat of cyber-attack is the Y2K challenge that required a combined public/private strategy as well as more resources to respond effectively. The vast majority (86%) of IT professionals say the U.S. government should devote more time and resources to cyber-attacks than it did to Y2K. In fact, about a third of those surveyed feel the government is spending less time and money on cyber-terrorism than on Y2K.

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