EDUCATION


Information is our most powerful resource, whether we receive it via the printed page, a computer screen, or from a dedicated teacher. In this section, we look at the trends and developments that are expanding STEM education.


Book Review CYBER WAR LAYS OUT NEW VIRTUAL BATTLEFIELD A


s new generations of engi- neers scour the landscape for the hottest STEM jobs, opportunities in the burgeon-


ing arena of cyber security will be inescapable.


Going forward in the face of docu- mented high-profile threats to the nation’s myriad of computer networks and sys- tems, databases and the Internet, federal govern- ment agen- cies and large corporations are spending big to protect these resources.


Employ-


ment of network and systems engineers and database administrators, for instance, will grow “much faster” than the average for all of U.S. occupa- tions through 2018, adding about 286,600 new jobs in the category, according to the Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-11 edition, from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. These won’t be policy-wonk positions, but highly intuitive technology-grunts work- ing in the trenches to ensure the integrity of digital-age information.


For those eyeing cyber security opportunities, picking up Richard A. Clarke’s Cyber War: The Next Threat to National Security and What to Do About It will be a must-reference for the bookshelf. Clarke arguably is the nation’s foremost figure on counterterrorism is-


www.blackengineer.com


sues, having served in the White House as a top-level advisor to Presidents Bill Clin- ton and George W. Bush during the run up to and aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, al-Qaeda attacks on the U.S. mainland. Cyber War outlines a number of hypotheticals in which devious and re- calcitrant hackers–who may be agents of rival nations like China, Russia and North Korea—could dis- rupt vital computer- dependent U.S. infrastructure such as electrical grids, financial systems, and energy pipe- lines with mali- cious programming code and computer keystrokes.


Such attacks


have the propensity for disabling trans- portation systems, such as air, rail and vehicular traffic, causing widespread blackouts, confus- ing the integrity of financial records and information, and wiping out medical records,


according to Clarke. Clarke’s book, published in April 2010 with co-author Robert Knake, is a put-your-feet-up compendium for under- standing the potential disaster for national security if computer-based terrorism attacks succeed. By understanding the threat, it easily will be apparent where the jobs and action will be. The book offers a summation of the development of the age of cyberspace and how such technological advances have the potential to be as devastating as the destruction on a military battlefield.


Clearly, preventing cyber attacks, Clarke points out, is a stated intention of the U.S. government. The U.S. Depart- ment of Homeland Security—through its National Cyber Security Division—is the lead civilian agency on the case, but- tressed, of course, by the four military service branches. In May, the U.S. Cyber Command, located at super-secret Fort Meade, MD, became operational in an effort to coordinate cyber security efforts within the military. Another federal agen- cy, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, is receiving a boost in federal funding for addressing cyber security. Clarke lays out a number of instances where cyber events already have taken root, notably by the Chinese, Russians and North Koreans. In one example, Clarke notes that in early 2009, North Korea conducted a series of nuclear test detonations, and almost immediately afterward 40,000 computers were hit with a virus designed to spread and ping the websites of U.S. and South Korean government agencies and international companies. Later in 2009, search engine titan Google abandoned the Chinese market because of concerns that Chinese hackers allegedly compromised its propri- etary information through intrusions on its networks.


From such incidents, Clarke outlines in the book five “take-aways”–that the cyber war is real because of the potential damage one nation can do to another; cy- ber war happens at the speed of light be- cause of the immeasurable speed at which attacks can stream through fiber-optic cable; cyber war is global as hackers can launch attacks on servers worldwide; cy- ber war skips the battlefield since systems can be damaged without first defeating a nation’s traditional defenses, and cyber war has begun based on how nations already are “preparing the battlefield.” 


USBE&IT I WINTER 2010 39 by M.V. Greene mgreene@ccgmag.com


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92