Cyberwar test shows US vulnerable to attack

A test of the US critical infrastructure has shown glaring weaknesses in the ability of the US government to respond to online attacks.

Operation Cyber ShockWave, a war game organised by the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) and former senior administration officials, replicated an online and physical attack on the US national critical infrastructure.

The test involved a malware attack against smartphones via a bogus advertising program, which then activated and started sending long video files to jam up networks. As the phones were synched with computers the infection spread onto the wired network, shutting down trading floors and power grids.

Stephen Friedman, who played the role of Secretary of the Treasury, said of a potential attack on the US, “there is no question in my mind that this is a predictable surprise and we need to get our act together.”

“Cyber ShockWave demonstrated the tremendous challenges the government has in dealing with potential cyber attacks,” said Jason Grumet, founder and president of the BPC.

“Our goal for Cyber Shockwave was to identify real policy and preparedness issues that need to be addressed in order to combat an attack of this magnitude that escalates rapidly and is of unknown origin.”