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Threats to the Australian Economy from Information Technology / Communication System Collapse
Author: Robert H. Anderson
Volume 2, Number 2 (July 2006), pp. 99-113.
Abstract
This article addresses the question: How serious is the threat to Australia's critical information infrastructure from cyber attacks? Information and communication systems form the backbone of many aspects of Australia's economy and social infrastructure. Those systems have vulnerabilities that might be exploited. There are a variety of mitigation measures that can be employed to lessen, but not eliminate, the possibility of severe consequences. We conclude that most attacks will not cause overwhelming, lasting damage to Australia, but special attention should be paid to physical attacks against key information system nodes, the insider threat, and simultaneous, coordinated attacks against a system's primary and backup sites.
About the Author
Robert Anderson, Ph.D., is a senior computer scientist at RAND and is currently head of its Information Sciences Group. Bob joined RAND in 1968, and has been an employee or consultant here for most of the past 25 years. He has also served as Executive Vice President of Interactive Systems Corporation in Santa Monica, and has consulted on computer information systems for the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in Vienna and others. Bob's current research interests include security and safety issues in cyberspace, the societal impacts of the continuing information revolution, the design of effective electronic mail systems for communication within organizations and interest groups, and the development of user-computer environments for modeling and simulation. He received his M.A. and Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics from Harvard University, and serves as a professor of information science at the RAND Graduate School. anderson@rand.org.
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