Adaptive Multi-Layer Network Survivability : A Unified Framework for Countering CyberTerrorism

Speaking publicly about infrastructure threats for the first time, Director of the CIA, George Tenet, testified before Congress that several foreign governments have "information warfare" programs targeting the USA. {testimony before the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs June 1998} This, in itself, may be reason to improve protection of computer systems and telecommunications infrastructures. However, given the fragility of the U.S. infrastructure to small random failures (such as hardware failures, bad software design, innocent human errors, and environmental events) an already serious situation becomes even worse. If small random failures have resulted in the drastic effects of many large-scale regional and national outages at an increasing rate over the last two decades, what is the vulnerability of U.S. infrastructure to a malicious, intelligent, well-funded, and determined attack?