60 Minutes: Cyber War: Sabotaging the System

Nov. 8, 2009

Former Chief of National Intelligence Says U.S. Unprepared for Cyber Attacks


(CBS) Nothing has ever changed the world as quickly as the Internet has. Less than a decade ago, "60 Minutes" went to the Pentagon to do a story on something called information warfare, or cyber war as some people called it. It involved using computers and the Internet as weapons.

Much of it was still theory, but we were told that before too long it might be possible for a hacker with a computer to disable critical infrastructure in a major city and disrupt essential services, to steal millions of dollars from banks all over the world, infiltrate defense systems, extort millions from public companies, and even sabotage our weapons systems.

Today it's not only possible, all of that has actually happened, plus a lot more we don't even know about.

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26Dems Editorial Note.Election Integrity Advocates, aware of the vulnerabilities in electronic voting machines, have urged successfully in Pima County that voting equipment be disconnected from the internet. Other jurisdictions, including Maricopa County still are connected. The reality is that security has already been breached at CENTCOM, the power grid, and our banking system. If it is easy to get a generator to destroy itself, or to rob a bank of 10 million dollars in 24 hours with a click of the mouse, it would be just as easy for a foreign entity to hack into our voting systems and interfere with American elections.