* Review of new security novel 'Breakpoint'
I recently received a copy of Richard A. Clarke’s new novel, _Breakpoint_, and enjoyed reading it.
Clarke’s biography includes extensive service at high levels of the federal government. A summary paragraph about his achievements reads:
“Prior to an unprecedented 11 consecutive years of White House service [as Special Assistant to the President for Global Affairs, National Coordinator for Security and Counterterrorism, and Special Advisor to the President for Cyber Security], Richard Clarke served for 19 years in the Pentagon, the Intelligence Community and State Department. During the Reagan Administration, he was Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence; and under the first Bush Administration, he was Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs, coordinating diplomatic efforts and subsequent security arrangements to support the 1990-91 Gulf War. In total, he has worked for seven presidents and devoted three decades to combating the terrorist threat to America.”
The book opens in 2012 with massive attacks on the Internet infrastructure of the United States. The attacks are traced to a Chinese university, and government agencies prepare a counterattack. The story includes interesting expositions about the convergence of computer technology with biotechnology, the rise of anti-technology fanatics, and discussions of significant ethical questions.
I was struck by the parallel between parts of the story and a recent announcement that the National Cyber Response Coordination Group (NCRCG) is prepared to launch counterattacks against the perceived sources of cyber attacks on the U.S. Veteran Network World writer Ellen Messmer summarized the plan:
“If the United States found itself under a major cyberattack aimed at undermining the nation’s critical information infrastructure, the Department of Defense is prepared, based on the authority of the president, to launch a cyber counterattack or an actual bombing of an attack source… In the event of a massive cyberattack against the country that was perceived as originating from a foreign source, the United States would consider launching a counterattack or bombing the source of the cyberattack, Hall said. But he noted the preferred route would be warning the source to shut down the attack before a military response.”
Unfortunately, the source of a cyberattack may be spoofed. IP Version 4 (IPv4) lacks a formal mechanism for source authentication of packets, and so it is easy to launch attacks that appear to come from somewhere else. Without detailed and verified information about the actual source, it would be easy to counterattack against the wrong target. Indeed, Richard Clarke has written a nonfiction book about precisely such a misplaced reaction in _Against All Enemies_.
The book is quite short, coming in at about 80,000 words. Clarke provides an afterword with valuable explanations of his sources. All in all, an enjoyable read that can provoke interesting discussions.
