Policing Cyber Terrorism

Abstract

In order to police a crime there must be an act that is considered a crime and punishable under the law. There also must exist the capability to investigate for potential suspects and obtain physical or circumstantial evidence of the crime to be used in criminal proceedings. The act of gaining unauthorized access to a network system is a criminal act under federal law. Several key factors are presented during the course of this discussion and then built upon. Two methods of attack planning are presented. The attack planning cycle for traditional terrorist and then cyber terrorists planning used to penetrate a network system. Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition System (SCADA) are defined and presented as an important critical target within the nation’s infrastructure. Examples of successful attacks are presented. A brief overview is used to present malicious software and the effects of its use against SCADA systems. The path for which data takes through a network is explained. The importance of the data path is vital in understanding the five methods of attribution which serve as methods of investigating cyber terrorism.