Cyber war test shows US vulnerable to attack

Operation Cyber ShockWave highlighted problems in the US government's emergency procedures

A test of the US critical infrastructure has shown glaring weaknesses in the ability of the US government to respond to online attacks.

Operation Cyber ShockWave, an exercise organised by the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) and former senior administration officials, replicated an online and physical attack on the US national critical infrastructure.

The test involved a malware attack against smartphones via a bogus advertising program, which then activated and started sending long video files to jam networks. As the phones were synchronised with computers, the infection spread to the wired network, shutting down trading floors and power grids.

"There is no question in my mind that we need to get our act together," said Stephen Friedman, director of the National Economic Council, who played the role of Secretary of the Treasury during the exercise.

Jason Grumet, founder and president of the BPC, added: "Cyber ShockWave demonstrated the tremendous challenges the government has in dealing with potential cyber attacks.

"Our goal for Cyber Shockwave was to identify real policy and preparedness issues that need to be addressed in order to combat an attack of this magnitude that escalates rapidly and is of unknown origin."