DHS Cyber Storm Report: Critical Infrastructure Defense Overview

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security released an overview this week of its cyberattack exercise which simulated the government's response to a large-scale disruption of the critical infrastructure and the Internet. More than 100 organizations in over 60 locations and five countries participated in the exercise in February of this year. According to a previously published presentation (PDF) outlining the scenario, the exercise pitted the responders against a mish-mash of anti-globalization cyberattackers.

While the report summed up Cyber Storm as a success and stated that those involved "met the challenges," many of the problems were significantly downplayed. In several parts, the DHS voiced concern that the relatively modest resources dedicated to cyberattack response would be overwhelmed in a real attack. The National Cyber Response Coordination Group (NCRCG), for example, became so overwhelmed that "development of an accurate situational picture was challenging," the report stated.

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