Cyber-Threats to Supply Chains on the rise, Officials say

In an article dated August 12, 2010, Government Technology staff writer Hilton Collins reports that cyber-terrroism threats most likely include the nation's supply chain infrastructure.

The article quotes Major General Tom Wilkerson (USMC, Ret.), current CEO of the United States Naval Institute, who states "'If you took down the ports of Los Angeles or Long Beach and made it so that none of the container ships could arrive, even if they knew that they were supposed to go there, that would be an equally disastrous thing. I'm sure that terrorists and would-be enemies of the United States are looking at that just as hard as they're looking at [cyber-warfare].'"  

In partnership with CACI International, a provider of professional and IT solutions for defense application, the Naval Institute issued a report in which they indicate that both "weapons development and hazardous material supply chains are targets." They cite a recent breach in which "attackers were able to download information about an F-35 jet fighter. However, the threat highlighted by the report is by no means limited to these supply chains. The Wall Street Journal's coverage of F-35 incident can be found here.  

In addition to simply disrupting the supply chain, former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore, a participant in the pre-report symposium and member of the CACI board of directors, said "'U.S. adversaries could substitute equipment components with counterfeit ones.'"  

Also of note in the article is a reference to a 2010 Symantec report of worldwide malicious cyber activity. The United States ranked first among the most victimized countries with 21 percent of worldwide malicious activity. India and Germany tied for second place with 6 percent.   

The entire Government Technology article can be found at the link above, or here. The joint U.S. Naval Institute-CACI International report can be found at the link above, or here. The Wall Street Journal's report of the F-35 incident can be found at the link above, or here. The 2010 Symantec report can be found at the link above, or here.