BY TAMARA DIETRICH, Newport News Daily Press
Last December, bad guys using stolen usernames and passwords managed to take over the control systems of three power distribution companies. Company employees watched helplessly as the cyberattackers took over their control panels and, in a matter of minutes, shut down power to some 225,000 customers. Ron Ross of the National Institute of Standards and Technology said, “This is the nature of cyber today. Cyber operates below the radar. And you don’t have to defeat a superpower with cruise missiles or classic kinetic things, anymore. You can defeat a superpower by attacking through cyber.” And it’s a target-rich environment, Ross said. Today, about 6 billion devices from smartphones to tablets to cars to children’s toys are on the so-called internet of things. And every day, several million more are added. The summit to address cyberthreats is the first of its kind in the state, drawing registrants from all levels of government, academia, industry, the military, research and other areas.
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