Terminal Compromise

"It is with these thoughts that those more expert than I can speak at length, but we must realize and accept the responsibili- ty for protecting that information. Unfortunately, we as trust- ing Americans, have allowed a complacency to overshadow prudent pragmatism.

"Over the last weeks we have begun to see the results of our complacency. The veins of the nation, the free flow of informa- tion, is being poisoned.

"Both the government and the private sector are to blame for our state of disarray and lack of preparedness in dealing with the current crisis. We must be willing, individually and collective- ly, to admit that we are all at fault, then we must fix the problem, make the sacrifice and then put it behind us.

"It is impossible for the Government to deny that we have failed miserably in our information security and privacy implementation.

Likewise, the value of the acc.u.mulation of information by the private sector was overlooked by everybody. Fifteen years ago, who could have possibly imagined that the number of businesses relying on computers would have jumped more than a hundred thou- sand fold.

"Today, the backbone of America, the small businessman, 20,000,000 strong, the one man shop, provides more jobs than the Fortune 1000. And, the small businessman has come to rely on his computer as Big Business has for decades. His survival, his success is as critical to the stability of the United States'

economy as is a General Motors or an IBM. We must defend the small business as surely as we must defend our international compet.i.tiveness of industrial leaders.

"The wealth of this country was once in steel mills, in auto plants, in manufacturing. The products built by the United States were second to none. Made in the U.S.A. was a proud label, one that carried a premium worldwide. Our technological leaders.h.i.+p has never been in question and has been the envy of the world for over 200 years. Franklin, Fulton and Edison. The Wright Brothers, Westinghouse, Ford. As a nation the Manhattan Project reaffirmed our leaders.h.i.+p. Then Yaeger and the speed of sound. The transistor. DNA decoded. The microchip. The Moon.

The computer.

"Yet there was a subtle s.h.i.+ft occurring that escaped all but the most vigilant. We were making less things, our concentration on manufacturing was slowly s.h.i.+fting to an emphasis on technology.

Communications, computers. Information processing. No longer are cities built around smokestacks spewing forth the byproducts of the manufacturing process. Instead, industrial parks sprout in garden-like settings that encourage mental creativity.

Fifteen percent of the American workforce no longer drive to the office. They commute via their computers at home.

"The excitement of the breakneck pace of technology masked the danger in which we were placing ourselves. Without realizing it, a bulk of this nation's tangible wealth was being moved to the contents of a computer's memory. We took those first steps toward computerization hesitantly; we didn't trust the computer.

It was unfamiliar, foreign, alien. But when we embraced the computer, we unquestioningly entrusted it with out most precious secrets.

"Unlike the factory though, with the fence, the gates, the dogs, the alarms and the night guards, we left our computers unprotect- ed. Growing bigger and faster computers took precedence over protecting their contents.

"We were warned, many times. But, as I said earlier, neither your government nor its const.i.tuency heeded the warnings with enough diligence. Protection of government information became a back-burner issue, a political hot cake, that in budget crunches, was easy to overlook. Overcla.s.sification of information became the case of the 'The Spy Who Cried Wolf.' The cla.s.sification system has been abused and clearly does not serve us well. At my direction it will receive a thorough overhaul.

"Personal privacy has been ignored. Your government is in pos- session of huge amounts of data and yet there is no effort at protecting the non-cla.s.sified privacy of individuals in our computers.

"The private sector faces another dilemma. The unresponsiveness of the Federal Government to the protection of its own informa- tion did not set a good example for industry, and their comput- ers, too, remained vulnerable.

The President paused from reading his speech to pour a gla.s.s of ice water.

"Nothing can stop the fact that the United States is under at- tack. Nothing can change the fact that the attack cannot be turned

But we can minimize the damage. We can prepare for the inevita- ble obstacles we will face.

"The poison that Mr. h.o.m.osoto put into the American information society is the equivalent of electronic biological warfare. He has senselessly and vengefully struck out against the United States in a manner that I describe as an act of war.

"In order to deal with this real threat to the security of the United States of America, I have taken several steps that are designed to a.s.sist in weathering the storm.

"First, I am a.s.signing the Director of the National Security Agency to coordinate all efforts at defending against and mini- mizing the effects of the current crisis. The NSA has the expe- rience and resources, and the support of this President to manage an operation of this complexity and importance. In addition, representatives from GCHQ in the United Kingdom and other ITSEC members from Germany, France and Holland will coordinate European defensive strategies.

"Second, I am activating the following four groups to a.s.sist the NSA in their efforts. ECCO, the Emergency Computer Crisis Organ- ization, has acted as an advisor to law enforcement agencies across the country and has been instrumental in providing the technical support to the FBI and the Secret Service in their computer crime investigations.

"CERT, the Computer Emergency Response Team was created by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency as an outgrowth of the 1988 INTERNET Worm incident. Carnegie Mellon University where CERT is headquartered has donated the facilities and staff of their Software Engineering Inst.i.tute to deal with the invasion of our computers.

"The Defense Data Network Security Coordination Center was based at the Stanford Research Inst.i.tute by the Defense Communications Agency to coordinate attacks against non-cla.s.sified computer systems.

"Lastly, CIAC, the Computer Incident Advisory Capability manages computer crises for the Department of Energy at Lawrence Liver- more Laboratories.

"These are the organizations and the people who will guide us through the coming adversities. It is they who are responsible to insure that America never again finds itself so vulnerable.

So open to attack. So helpless in our technological Achilles Heel.

"The organizations I mentioned, and the government itself have not yet been tested in a crisis of significant magnitude. This is their maiden voyage, so to speak, and it is inc.u.mbent on us, the American people, to make their job as easy as we can by offering our complete cooperation.

"And, tonight, that is what I am asking of you. Your a.s.sistance.

Your government cannot do it alone. Nor can small localized individual efforts expect to be successful against an army of invaders so large. We must team together, act as one, for the good of the entire country. From the big business with 100,000 computers to the millions of men, women and children with a home computer; from the small businessman to the schools, we need to come together against the common enemy: the invasion of our privacy and way of life.

"Americans come together in a crisis, and my fellow Americans, we face a crisis. Let me tell you what my advisors tell me. They tell me without taking immediate drastic steps to prevent further destruction of America's information infrastructure, we face a depression as great as the one of the 1930's.

"They tell me that every computer in the country, most in Canada, a significant number in England and other countries, can expect to be attacked in some manner within two years. That represents over 70 million casualties!

"The international financial and monetary system will come to a halt and collapse. Financial trading as we know it will cease and wild speculative fluctuations will dominate the world curren- cy markets. America is already feeling the change since the ATM networks were removed from service.

"As we have seen, the transportation facilities of this country, and indeed the world, are totally dependent on computers and therefore vulnerable. That is why today we take so seriously the threats against the airlines. There is no choice but success.

Together, the American people must stand up to this threat and not succ.u.mb to its effects.

"While your government has the resources to develop solutions to the problems, it has not been within our power to mandate their use in the private sector.

"We will need unity as never before, for the battleground is in our homes, our schools, our streets and our businesses. The children of this great country will have as much opportunity to contribute as their parents will, and as the leaders of business will. As we all will and all must.

"In conclusion, ladies and gentlemen, the very structure of our country is in imminent danger of collapse, and it is up to us, indeed it is within our power, to survive. The sacrifices we will be called upon to make may be great, but the alternative is unacceptable.

"Indeed, this is a time where the American spirit is called upon to s.h.i.+ne, and s.h.i.+ne brightly. Thank you, and G.o.d Bless the United States of America."

Sunday, January 24 Scarsdale, New York

"One f.u.c.kuva speech," Tyrone Duncan said to Scott Mason who was downing the last of a Coors Light. "You should be proud of yourself." They had watched the President's speech on Scott's large screen TV.

"Ahhhh," grunted Scott. "It's almost anti-climatic."

"How the h.e.l.l can you say that?" Tyrone objected. "Isn't this what you've been trying to do? Get people to focus on the prob- lem? Christ, you can't do much more than a Presidential speech."

"Oh, yeah," agreed Scott cynically. "Everyone knows, but not a d.a.m.n thing's gonna be done about it. Nothing. I don't care what the President says, nothing's going to change."

"You have become one cynical b.a.s.t.a.r.d. Even Congress is behind the President on this one. His post-speech popularity is over 70% according to CNN's Rapid Sample Poll."

"CNN. Bah, Humbug. Sensationalist news. And you think the proposed computer crime bills will pa.s.s?" Scott asked doubtfully.

Tyrone hesitated. "Sure, I think so. And you don't?"

"No, I don't. At least not in any meaningful way. C'mon, you're the const.i.tutionalist not me. Sure, the original authors of the bill will write something with punch, maybe even effective. But by the time it gets committee'd to death, it'll be another piece of meaningless watered down piece of s.h.i.+t legislation. And that's before the states decide that computer crime is a state problem and not an inter-state issue. They'll say Uncle Sam is treading on their turf and put up one h.e.l.luva stink." Scott shook his head discouragingly. "I see nothing but headaches."

"I think you just feel left out, like your job's done and you have nothing to do anymore. Post partum depression." Ty rose from the comfortable leather reading chair to get a couple more beers. "I kind of know how you feel."

Scott looked up at Tyrone in bewilderment. "You do? How?"

"I'm definitely leaving. We've made up my mind." Tyrone craned his neck from the kitchen. "Arlene and I, that is." Tyrone came back and threw a silver bullet at Scott. "This part of my life is over and it's time I move on to something else."