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Attack on telephone infastructure

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BobA:
So is this some prelude to larger attacks or someones idea of a very costly joke?

link to news about attack

ark_ader:
Sometimes these incidents happen.  Only benefit comes from them afterward.  It will wake up alarm bells.

I bet Homeland Security will be looking at other sites and determining if they are accessible from outside sources.

I would be ticked off to think my cell would not work, considering that most people carry cell phones as a backup to their land lines.

Like the report says:  Whoever did this will be in a world of hurt when caught, especially if there are deaths involved.

SavannahLion:

--- Quote from: ark_ader on April 13, 2009, 04:53:18 pm ---I bet Homeland Security will be looking at other sites and determining if they are accessible from outside sources.

--- End quote ---

It's been a few years since I learned about it, but it's already been done.. sort of. From what I could remember a University student harvested public record documents from a variety of sources to create a tool that maps out all the utility connections and lay it over a Google(?) map. One of the cool features of the software was to analyze weaknesses in any utility grid. eg, if one were to severe Point A, you can knock out service to the entire west coast. Did it as part of his graduate thesis and thusly presented it to his professor. The student and prof presented it to several companies out of concern for the security of the utility networks. Every single one of the companies begged the student not to share the information with the public (remember, all the information he obtained from public records, it was never assembled and presented in such a manner before.) The student eventually got a call from a federal agency (FBI? Not sure), had his thesis clamped, and his laptop seized. Clearly, they didn't do a hell of a lot with the information to secure the utility networks or the harvested data. Go figure.

I clearly remember this being a Digg article and I thought I dugg it, but I wasn't able to dig up the links. I don't remember enough details to recall who or where this was.


--- Quote ---I would be ticked off to think my cell would not work, considering that most people carry cell phones as a backup to their land lines.

--- End quote ---

Correction, most people are using their cell phones as a primary means of communication. Their land lines is a backup to the cell (assuming they even have land lines anymore). ;)

ChadTower:

--- Quote from: SavannahLion on April 14, 2009, 02:45:53 am ---Correction, most people are using their cell phones as a primary means of communication. Their land lines is a backup to the cell (assuming they even have land lines anymore). ;)

--- End quote ---


...and who makes these batteries?  What would happen should that supply be cut off?

We are treading some very dangerous waters in terms of foreign dependence and getting further from shore every year.

Ed_McCarron:

--- Quote from: ark_ader on April 13, 2009, 04:53:18 pm ---I would be ticked off to think my cell would not work, considering that most people carry cell phones as a backup to their land lines.

--- End quote ---

How do you think the cell tower connects to the outside world?  Cut that link and the tower is dead.

Hopefully, instead of panicking, the telcos responsible figure out how to build in some redundancy.

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