Dan Verton, senior writer at IDG’s Computerworld and renowned national expert on cyber-security, has been invited by the House Committee on Government Reform to testify at a hearing on September 18 regarding the security of industrial control systems in the nation’s critical infrastructure.
Verton’s presence was requested as a result of his recent research regarding cyber vulnerabilities in industrial controls systems (commonly referred to as SCADA systems) for his newly published book, Black Ice: The Invisible Threat of Cyber-Terrorism.
The Committee was alerted to Verton’s expertise on cyber-security by an excerpt from Black Ice, detailing the threat of cyber-terrorism in the energy, telecommunications and financial industries, which appeared in the August 11 issue of Computerworld.
Verton’s testimony comes during a time of heightened concern regarding potential terrorist action against the United States. According to a recent National Research Council report, the possibility for attack on control systems requires “urgent attention.”
In Black Ice, Verton exposes that the energy industry and other industrial sectors have opened their doors to cyber-attacks by creating inadvertent Internet links (both physical and wireless) between their corporate networks and SCADA systems – the computers that manage the actual flow of electricity and natural gas, and perform other critical functions.
“I’m honored to serve my country by testifying before Congress during what is perhaps the most challenging time in our nation’s history. It’s also a privilege to present lawmakers an inside look at my research for Black Ice, as well as my years of reporting on these issues for Computerworld.
“The security of the control systems and networks that power our nation’s infrastructure and economy is an urgent national security matter. America faces thinking enemies around the world who understand both the weaknesses in the nation’s physical and digital infrastructures, as well as the strategic political and economic impact that repeated disruptions of those infrastructures can have. It’s time to take these targets away from America’s terrorist enemies,” said Verton.
