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Cyber Terrorism Another Area Of Concern For Government & Business

DETROIT (WWJ) - Since 9/11, there's not only concern over a physical attack on the country, but worry about something called "Cyber Terrorism" - where terrorists work to take down the Web.

Although CBS Technology Consultant Larry Magid says the Internet cannot be completely shut down, he says there are people with political and social agendas who have wreaked havoc against companies such as Sony, and have even shut down law enforcement sites.

"And then you've got, not out of the question, state sponsored cyber terrorism, cyber hacking. And there have been accusations against, certainly, against China. I don't know if they've been proven, but there have been plenty of accusations, and I think we've seen some pretty compelling evidence regarding China shutting down some of Google sites, or hacking into Google sites," said Magid.

Magid says another big concern is that there is an Internet connection to a physical infrastructure such as a power plant, or air craft controlling system, which could be dangerous.

"It would be difficult to shut it entirely down, but you could disrupt it. You could shut down key routing servers, you could shut down name servers ... so there are vulnerabilities without a doubt," said Magid.

"What we worry about, is that there is an Internet connection to any kind of a physical infrastructure, whether it's a power plant, and air craft controlling system," said Magid.

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