Is the internet safe? A massive attack to it will happen (they say).

 

Our U.S. government gave us the internet, but not without first giving it to the private sector.  We've all had a lot of fun with it, and now use it for everything & anything, but the private sector hasn't been investing very much in security. So the government has been getting more involved in internet security and they have a new security testing program. They have a super computer set up where tests can be run on it to see what it would  take to crash the whole system. Tests like this can not be run on the actual real system, of course, LOL.

Even college kids can send their own tests to it from their laptops to run security tests, to try to break the internet. I hope this helps improve the internet's security so a cyber attack doesn't stop our modern civilization dead in its tracks, someday (or rip us off one at a time)!

Here's the segment about it as they showed it on PBS Newshour, if you want to see it all. You can watch the video or read it as a transcript.

 

Preventing a 'Cyber-Pearl Harbor'

They say "not IF but WHEN" ...

 

"Douglas Maughan says there's much more at stake than just crime. He heads the Department of Homeland Security's Cyber Security Division."

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/science/jan-june12/deterlab_04-16.html