Combined computer attacks could have ‘catastrophic’ global effects

LONDON - A new study has found that coordinated computer attacks could have ‘catastrophic’ global effects.

The report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said that multiple cyber attacks could “become a full-scale global shock” on a par with a pandemic and the collapse of the world financial system.

“What should concern policy-makers are combinations of events: two different cyber-events occurring at the same time, or a cyber-event taking place during some other form of disaster or attack,” the Scotsman quoted the report as saying.

One such example the report cited was “a very large-scale solar flare (bursts of energy from the sun), which physically destroys key communications components such as satellites, cellular base stations and switches.”

Another could involve “a hitherto unknown fundamental flaw” in the technical building blocks of the Internet “over which agreement for remedy could not be quickly reached”, it added.

According to the report’s co-author Professor Peter Sommer, of the London School of Economics, lurid language and poor analysis were blocking government planning for cyber protection. (ANI)