The central premise of this work is that a significant shift of focus and approach is necessary in order to deal with the emerging threat of information attacks on the critical infrastructures of our society. A range of studies, for example those conducted by the RAND Corporation and by a DARPA ISAT project, raised the concern that a concerted information attack by a skillful and motivated opponent could lead to catastrophic consequences. In particular, it was observed that the increasing reliance by the Department of Defense on advanced information technologies made it particularly vulnerable to such attacks. Information attacks have few physical warning signs, are often extremely difficult to detect, are difficult to distinguish from normal malfunctions, and are capable of-interfering with or totally disabling complex
military operations. Finally, it was observed that traditional security techniques only address part of the problem; they attempt to prevent attacks, but they offer little once an attack has been successfully launched.
military operations. Finally, it was observed that traditional security techniques only address part of the problem; they attempt to prevent attacks, but they offer little once an attack has been successfully launched.
