Cyberterrorism

Give students something to think about when they’re next using their computers—the dangers of cyberterrorism. At no time in history has information been so accessible to the individual, or so vulnerable to attack by a single crafty terrorist armed with only a computer and an Internet connection. In spite of developments in encryption (protective coding), firewalls (barriers to unauthorized access), and other security systems, there is always the threat that criminals will hack through a computer network’s security system, from any location in the world, no matter how remote. Is there any way to stop or prevent cyberterrorism, or are we doomed to be thrust back into the relative dark ages of the pre-digital era in the blink of an eye—or the click of a mouse?