| Publication |
2013.
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| Summary/Abstract |
Cyber attacks directed at Critical National Infrastructure constitute a significant, diverse, and rapidly escalating risk-element in the global threat environment. Critical infrastructures are susceptible to cyber attacks precisely because of their high inherent value and intrinsic vulnerabilities, coupled with a significant potential to inflict widespread harm on targeted countries. Threats to the cyber-security of critical infrastructures emanate from a wide spectrum of prospective perpetrators: state-sponsored espionage and sabotage, international terrorism, domestic militants, malevolent "hacktivists," or even disaffected insiders. Thus, British intelligence sources indicate that the United Kingdom is being bombarded by thousands of cyber attacks daily, perpetrated by hackers and state-sponsored organizations targeting government and business so as to steal secrets or disable networked computerized systems. 1 While criminal elements can also pose a threat to cyber-security, they tend to be motivated by material or financial benefit, whereas the focus here is exclusively on cyber-attacks perpetrated on Critical National Infrastructures to promote political or ideological objectives.
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