Google attacks may trouble economy: U.S.

Washington: According to a top U.S. intelligence official, Google's recently reported cyberattacks are a wake-up call about the vulnerabilities of computer networks to attacks that could cripple the U.S. economy. "We cannot be certain that our cyberspace infrastructure will remain available and reliable during a time of crisis," U.S. Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair told key lawmakers. According to Blair, vital telecommunications and information systems faced threats from, "those who would steal, corrupt, harm or destroy the public and private assets vital to our national interests."

He pointed to Google's announcement that following cyberattacks on the Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists it was no longer willing to censor Web search results in China even if that means it has to leave the country. "The recent intrusions reported by Google are a stark reminder of the importance of these cyber assets, and a wake-up call to those who have not taken this problem seriously," Blair told the Senate Intelligence Committee. "China's aggressive cyber activities are among activities by Beijing that pose challenges to its neighbors and beyond."

Blair also warned that criminals have been targeting the latest generation of cellular telephones "whose increasing power and use in financial transactions makes them potentially lucrative targets."

He said that he was pursuing efforts to toughen U.S. cyberdefenses and that "new cybersecurity approaches must continually be developed, tested, and implemented to respond to new threat technologies and strategies."

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