Terrorism and Technology Essay Example for Free

Terrorism and Technology EssayIndia and the linked States, the worlds two largest democracies, argon twain vulnerable to terrorist attacks. As an Indian participant in the workshop said, The more or less vulnerable states argon those with present societies that tolerate dissent. So far, India and the get together States have faced rather different forms of terror attacks. Notwithstanding the terrorist threat, modern industrial societies have some off desktop advantages. Their globose intelligence services and military presence, especi exclusivelyy when they cooperate with hotshot a nonher, may keep the terror networks off balance, and may be able to damage some of them and interrupt with their communications and money flows. Military action, or the threat of it, may discourage rogue states from supporting the terrorists.Neverthe little, passing efficient economies also acquire vulnerabilities and reduced resilience from the private sectors reluctance to cave in effi ciency to reduce blasting risks whose likelihood is difficult to estimated One area in which both India and the join States enjoy impressive capability is look for and innovation. Through the application of available or new technologies, states tooshie make cigarettes less vulnerable, thus less attractive. They tolerate limit the damage that may result from an attack, improver the speed of recovery, and provide forensic tools to identify the perpetrators. However, terrorist networks are led by well-educated and well-financed people who may also enjoy advanced proficient skills.If supported by a giving medication whose military mental hospital has developed weapons of mass destruction, these skills may be greatly amplified. Any technical outline for responding to the threat of catastrophic act of terrorism must address this event.fissile nuclear materials, tactical nuclear weapons, and radiological materialspathological organisms (human, plant, and animal)military-type unhealthful chemical weaponsinflammable, toxic, and explosive chemicals and materials in industrial practicecyberattacks and electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attacks on electronic targets (telecoms, data, or command and control centers)transportation systems utilize as delivery systems for weaponsexplosives, either conventional or derived from elicit oil and nitrogen fertilizer (ammonium nitrate), for example Benefits-revitalization of the usual health service for serving the customary health emergencys of communitiestechnical capability to respond even faster and more than than effectively to innate(p) biological threats such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), West Nile computer virus, and monkey pox virusreduction in the number of illnesses caused by infection or poisoning of the victuals supplymore reliable electric power and other services, oddly in the face of hurricanes, floods, and earthquakesfurther improvements in the rubber standards of the chemical pers everancereduced incidence of cyber attacks by hackers and financial systems made more secure against stealth and malicious damage more efficient and prison termly tracking of goods in cut by dint of and billing for their corereduced risk to fire, police, and emergency health professionalsMITIGATION THE ROLE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGYNuclear and radiological ThreatsIf terrorists with a minimal take of scientific knowledge can acquire enough highly enriched uranium (HEU), they may be able to assemble an inefficient only effective nuclear weapon for burst in a major city. The countries are now co operational in safeguarding fissile material and blending peck stocks of HEU, but progress is far too slow. Even more dangerous is the possible availability to terrorists of washed-up nuclear weapons either stolen and sold from nuclear states or provided by rogue states capable of making them. The public must be educated on the nature of radiological threats, both from Radiation Dis persal Devices (dirty bombs) and from damage nuclear electric power plants and radioactive waste storage. Public ignorance most radiation hazards may arrive at a level of panic much more destructive than the radiation from which people may be fleeing..Biological Threats to People and Their Food SupplyResearch on pathogenesis of infectious agents, and in grumpy on means for early detection of the presence of such pathogens before their symptomatic appearance, is important. Nations will stockpile vaccines against known diseases, but the threat of genetic modificationwhile perhaps beyond the capability of most terrorists but not of rogue states assumes a vigorous research effort to find solutions for detection, evaluation, and response.In the United States the come to for infirmity Control and Prevention (CDC) provides a robust capability in epidemiology, but in that location is no resembling epidemiological response capability for possible biological attacks on agriculture an d farm animals. Thus, measures to harbor the food supply, and to provide decontamination after an attack, must have high formerity.Toxic Chemicals, Explosives, and Flammable Materials. Dangerous chemicals in transit should be tracked and identified electronically. To ensure that only first responders, and not terrorists, know what the tank cars contain, the rail cars should be equipped with encrypted electronic identification. Sensor networks are required to detect and characterize dangerous materials, particularly when they are airborne. Self-analyzing filter systems for modern office buildings whose windows cannot be opened can not only protect the inhabitants but also detect and report the first presence of materials (such as aerosols) that may be pin down in amend filters. An example of long-range, basic research that could be highly beneficial would be the stripping of olfactory biosensors than can reach dog levels of sensitivity, some 10,000 cadences that of humans.Comm unications and Information SystemsIn the United States the most urgent be intimate is to reconfigure first responder communications so that police, fire, and medical personnel can die with one another and with the emergency operations centers. Inability to do so greatly modify loss of life, especially among firefighters, in the World plenty Center attacks. The main worry about cyber attacks is the curtain raising of their use, perhaps with electromagnetic pulse devices as well, to amplify the destructive effect of a conventional forcible or biological attack.13 Cyber credentials is one of the top priority areas for research investment because private industry was, before September 11, 2001, largely content with the level of computer and network security available to it. A quite inadequate level of sophisticated talent is devoted to the goal of fully secure operating systems and networks.Transportation and BordersSensor networks for inspection of goods and passengers crossing the nationsborders will be a research priority. The primary technical contest will not be the design of sensors themselves, although much progress is call for in this area, but in the systems engineer of the networks of sensors together with data fusion and decision support software. biometrics for more secure identification of individuals shows promise, and systems superior to the drivers licenses and passports used by most travelers are promising. The range of threats to the transportation networks of a modern state is very great, and careful systems analysis is essential to identifying the creaky points and finding the most effective and economical means of protecting them.Cities and Fixed InfrastructureThe Emergency trading operations Centers (EOC) in many large U.S. cities are quite vulnerable, not only to a destructive somatic attack but to more indirect attacks on their ability to access data and to communicate through and through a cyber attack or electromagnetic puls e attack. Remedying these vulnerabilities must have high urgency in many cases the centers will have to be relocated. Tragically, the EOC in New York City was located in a known target, the World Trade Center. Much research is already under way to analyze the geomorphologic characteristics of high-rise buildings that may make them much more vulnerable than necessary. Without waiting for this research to result in revised building codes, the expert panel recommended immediate adoption and extension, where appropriate, of European standards for fire and blast, which were much improved following World War II. As already noted, air intakes for large buildings need to be less accessible and equipped with better air filters, perhaps with chemical analysis sufficient to determine if a toxic material is present.Instrumentation to allow first responders to detect toxic and hazardous materials special pabulum for protecting harbors, bridges, dams, tunnels, and dikes and protection against at tacks on urban water supplies downstream from the treatment plant are all discussed in Making the Nation Safer. How much of the long term, imaginative research and phylogeny envisioned in Making the Nation Safer has been undertaken by the Department of Homeland trade protection (DHS)? Not enough. The Science and Technology directorate of DHS does not have the scope of authority, nor the length of vision that the Academies study urged on Congress. Critics say that it has been difficult for DHS to catch anexpert staff with low enough turn over to build and execute the needed technical strategies. Nor has the Homeland Security Institute been given the necessary scope of independent system-level review of the DHS technical priorities. social RESPONSES TO TERRORIST THREATSthe public can also be an attack amplifier. The government faces a number of dilemmas, such as using a color-coded warning system to alert the public to the perceived likelihood of additional terrorist attacks. ma ny citizens feel that this system itself may needlessly amplify the threat, thus doing terrorists psychological job for them. An urgent issue to be addressed is for government to train and introduce to the public, well in advance of any attack, a number of trusted and knowledgeable people who are prepared to provide accurate and trustworthy reading quickly and authoritatively.TECHNICAL STRATEGIESFrom the great variety of threats studied by the National Academies experts, several commonsense conclusions about technical strategy can be extracted repair the weakest links (single-point failures) in vulnerable systems and fundaments use defenses-in-depth (do not rely only on perimeter defenses or firewalls) use circuit breakers to isolate and becalm failing system elements build security and flexibility into basic system designs where possible design systems for use by typical first respondersFocus priority attention on the system of systems technical challenge to understand and remedy the inherent weaknesses in critical infrastructure that are inherent in their architecture. train that first responders, including technical teams from critical infrastructure service industries, are properly trained and equipped, and the targets themselves are designed to be more resilient in the face of disaster. Emphasize the importance of flexibility and agility in responding to disasters that were not anticipated in the system design and personnel training. The last point is particularly important. future day attacks are likely to involve multiple complex systems. There are a number of dimensions to the systems engineering challenge of homeland security. The multiple critical industrial infrastructures are closely join.Almost all of the responses to terrorist threats requirethe concerned action of national agencies, state and local authorities, private companies, and in many cases, friendly nations. The technologies used in counterterrorism will themselves be coupled, compl ex systems. An evident example is the notion of complex networks of sensors that are coupled to databases, within which the network output is fused with other discipline, and from which sensible and useable information for local officials in Emergency Operations Centers must be provided. Thus, setting priorities requires modeling and simulating attack and response, and red teaming to test the durability of proposed solutions.Finally, there is a need to build up investments in the social sciences, which will be especially important in devising strategies for countering terrorism. Both the roots of terrorism and its consequences need to be better understood. favorable science can also contribute to a sustainable effort, involving multiple levels of government, with minimal economic cost, and where the perceived conflict between security activities and protection of individual freedom can best be aware and adjudicated.A SUSTAINABLE STRATEGY FOR HOMELAND SECURITYBecause major terro rist attacks against civil populations may be uninvolved by considerable intervals of time, there is reason to be concerned that the public will lose fill in the threat, and that none of the organizational or investment needs will be satisfactorily met. For these reasons, the strategy for maximizing civil benefits deserves high-priority attention. There are many obvious examples of how counter terror research and development can create values appreciated by the public and of economic value to firms, such as creation of a more agile vaccine development and production capability, information and communications networks that are more resistant to cyber attack, energy systems more robust in the face of natural disasters and human error, security technologies that are more effective yet more unobtrusive and convenient for the public.Sustainability will be a challenge for those in political power in the United States, for they find themselves compelled to emphasize the publics vulnerabi lity (for example, with the color-coded alert system, which is largely successful in making the public nervous) and at the same time to emphasize that the governments efforts have the terrorists on the run. Indeed, we can easily imagine thatterrorist organizations such as al Qaeda may deliberately wait long intervals between attacks to decrease the alertness of the targets defenses.SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONSThere are seven major points that I would conclude from this discussion. First, only a far-sighted foreign policy, addressing the roots of terrorism and denying terrorist ideologies a foothold in other societies, can make the United States and its allies safer in the long run. Second, weapons of mass destruction are potentially devastating, but the most seeming threats will be fashioned from the economy itself, as was the case on September 11, 2001. Private prop and commercial industry is most often the target of terrorist attacks, and may be providing the weapons for their own de struction. Thus, the federal government must devise both positive and negative incentives for private investments in hardening critical infrastructure and urban targets. Third, the protection of critical infrastructure must, to the extent possible, be accomplished through a civilian benefits maximisation strategy.Fourth, reducing vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure is a highly complex systems problem it requires a strategy tested by the most modern systems analytic approaches. Fifth, since most of the science and engineering science capability of market economy governments lies outside the security agencies, governments must be able to coordinate and fund a national science and technology strategy. Sixth, a degree of cooperation between industry, cities, and government unknown in prior experience is required. In particular, local authorities must have an effective voice in setting the technical agenda for equipment for which they are the customer. Finally, for the protection against terrorism to be sustainable, more than a civilian benefits maximization strategy is required. The negative effects on civil freedoms from change magnitude authority in the central government must be resisted, since the threat of terrorist attack is indefinite and emergency measures may never be relaxed.Now, allow us examine security. First, although science and technology will not solve all problems related to terrorism against the components making up a modern regional or national infrastructure, it can help in prevention, mitigation, and restoration if an attack or attacks are attempted or carried out. In other words, science and technology will help to reduce the threat ofterrorism, but it cannot eliminate it. Unfortunately, terrorism has become a fact of life. Whenever there are dissatisfied people who are willing to give up their own lives or do not value human life, it will be difficult to eliminate the threat of terrorist attacks. A specific point where science and technology can help is in the area of intelligence, by providing information about the potential for an act of terrorism to be conducted. For example, what is being done to sort through open communicationsboth e-mail and voice wirelessis rather startling both in bar and in degree of sophistication.There are programs, such as Trailblazer at the National Security Agency, that look for keywords and matches. Some of the recent terrorism alerts have been based on information gathered through these programs. There is another aspect that inexorably links infrastructure and security. The more sophisticated, complicated, or technologically evolved the infrastructure, that is, the more fragile it is, the more difficult it is to secure against terrorism and the greater theneed for science and technology solutions. The latter was the particular challenge that we were confronted with at the National Academies in producing the report entitled Making the Nation Safer.50 What can and should be d one incrementally as society becomes more and more complex, sophisticated, and interdependent? How do you establish layers of protection because of increased vulnerability? First, communication and coordination is required. When the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks occurred, the New York City Response Center was in the World Trade Center.So the ability of the fire and police departments within New York City to respond was hampered operosely because there was no way to centralize and coordinate the actions of the first responders. The lesson to be learned is that redundant response centers are needed for just this sort of contingency. The lack of communication was another lesson coming from the World Trade Center disaster. There is a definite need to have common systems that will allow all parties to communicate seamlessly Regarding building structures, another lesson can be drawn from the attack on the Pentagon. The Pentagon was hit exactly at the point between a impertinentl y restored portion of the Pentagon and the old Pentagon. While there was damage to the newly restored section, there was no structural failure to that part of the building. The walls absorbed the energy of the crash. In contrast, the old Pentagon suffered severe damage.Its walls collapsed. Most of the loss of life was in the old part of the Pentagon. The lesson here is to incorporate blast-resistant designs and materials into high-profile buildings For cities, one of the areas that is most in need of immediate attention is the ability to respond to catastrophic events. There is a need for simulation models, improved communications, and associated training. There is also a need to conduct systems analyses of responses to events in both berth and time. For transportation systems, there is an immediate need for intelligent information agents for cargo. These agents would include a combination of global positioning systems and sensors to detect intruders and, possibly, the presence of certain materials as well as shipping documents detailing the contents. such agents would be installed on every freight car in a rail system, every container on a ship, and every container transported by truck.Thus, one could monitor at every point in time exactly where each container or rail car is, what it contains, its destination, and whether there has been any attempt to tamper with or enter it. The various pieces of the so-called intelligent agent exist today and have been used on a limited basis. Efforts are under way to marry these various components into the type of agent I have described. Cargo see technology is complementary to the intelligent agents. While cargo scanners do exist, there is a need to integrate various components into a one-stop shop to monitor for specific items or radioactivity. The scanning equipment should be located at the point of embarkation of the container to prevent lethal weapons from reaching their intended destination.What good would it be t o identify a nuclear weapon in a container as you offload it in New York Harbor?53 Transportation technology needs to extend beyond the cargo. There is a compelling need to develop means of rapidly identifying people, checking them and their luggage. Although there are systems in place today, the virtuous numbers of people and locations is daunting. The use of biometrics would greatly alleviate this problem, while increasing the confidence level of the security forces. Rapidly deployable barriers to keep underground structures and tunnels from being flooded are another need.