Clinton Backs Cyber-Terror Warnings

[John Young <jya@pipeline.com>]

May 22, 1998
Clinton Backs Cyber-Terror Warnings
Filed at 1:31 p.m. EDT
By The Associated Press

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) -- Nuclear warheads were the stuff of Cold War
stockpiles and beachheads the battlefields of times gone by. To counter
today's threats, President Clinton told a new class of Naval officers, the
United States must amass germ-warfare vaccines and battle terrorists in
cyberspace. 

``If our children are to grow up safe and free, we must approach these new
21st century threats with the same rigor and determination we applied to the
toughest security challenges of this century,'' the president said today in
a commencement speech at the U.S. Naval Academy. 

For the 769 graduating midshipmen and 139 midshipwomen whose dress uniforms
shone blindingly white in the sun, Clinton painted a near-apocalyptic
picture of the enemies who threatened their mission beyond the academy. 

``As we approach the 21st century, our foes have extended the fields of
battle from physical space to cyberspace, from the world's vast bodies of
water to the complex workings of our own human body. Rather than invading
our beaches or launching bombers, these adversaries may attempt cyber
attacks against our critical military systems and our economic base,''
Clinton said. 

Clinton also called for an interconnected ``cyber-system'' that would warn
and minimize damage of attacks on computers that control the stock market,
banking, utilities, air traffic and other so-called ``critical
infrastructure.'' 

Private companies including IBM, Dell Computers, Bell South and GTE have
already agreed to participate in the ``cyber-system,'' which Clinton wants
to be fully operational by 2003, administration officials said. 

``If we fail to take strong action, then terrorists, criminals and hostile
regimes could invade and paralyze these vital systems, disrupting commerce,
threatening health, weakening our capacity to function in a crisis,''
Clinton said. 

He appointed National Security Council adviser Richard Clarke, who
specializes in such issues as drug trafficking and terrorism, to head a new
office on infrastructure protection and counter-terrorism. Former Sen. Sam
Nunn and Jamie Gorelick, formerly the Justice Department's No. 2 official
and now Fannie Mae's vice chairwoman, will lead a private industry advisory

group. 

[Warnings of bio-terrorism snipped]