The latter part of this article elaborates the NYT report today. The Washington Post, June 26, 1996, p. A19. CIA Gears Up to Thwart 'Information Attacks' Deutch Lists Computer Break-Ins, Terrorism as High-Priority Potential Threats to National Security By R. Jeffrey Smith CIA director John M. Deutch warned yesterday that the country is likely to experience some a very large and uncomfortable" disruptions of vital computer systems at the hands of foreign terrorists or hostile nations in coming years, but pledged a major new U.S. effort to detect and combat the threat of computer break-ins. "We have evidence that a number of countries around the world are developing the doctrine, strategies, and tools to conduct information attacks" on military-related computers, Deutch told a hearing of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, while declining to name these nations. Deutch added that he is convinced that foreigners are becoming increasingly aware "that advanced societies, especially the United States, are increasingly dependent on open and potentially vulnerable" computers to control electric power, airplane traffic, telecommunications and financial operations -- posing an attractive target for virtually "any nation or foreign terrorist organization." Emphasizing that the Clinton administration has just begun to grasp the dangers involved and begin working on the problem, Deutch said "we are not well-organized as a government to address these issues" and cautioned that making vital computers much less vulnerable to attack may take decades. "The electron is the ultimate precision-guided weapon," Deutch said, but "it is not [a problem about] which it's absolutely apparent ... the best way to proceed." Deutch said he nonetheless had already drawn up plans to create an office at the National Security Agency to be called the Information Warfare Technology Center, which will focus on analyzing the risks that foreign hackers pose to U.S. computers and help create new methods of investigating and defending the U.S. against electronic break-ins. Deutch also said that he supports creating a "real-time response center" for any major domestic or foreign attacks against civilian computers under the supervision of the Justice Department, as well as a separate, Defense Department center for responding to attacks on military-related computers. Deutch disclosed that the intelligence community conducted an extensive survey last year of the risks of an attack on computers controlling U.S. telephones, the electric power grid, oil refineries and other utilities. He said the results are classified, but added that a new, broader estimate of the threat is to be completed by December. He also said the intelligence community has begun to hunt more diligently for evidence of any foreign intent to attack U.S. computers, any sign of foreign sponsorship for U.S.-based computer hacking activities, and for any indication that foreign organized crime figures are becoming involved in attacks on computers at U.S. financial institutions. The Defense Intelligence Agency, moreover, is trying to develop a way to predict a major "information warfare attack" against the United States, Deutch said. One obstacle is that banks and other private institutions have been reluctant to divulge any evidence of computer intrusions for fear that it will leak and erode the confidence of their customers. Deutch said "the situation is improving" but that more cooperation was needed from major corporations, and said the CIA remains willing to share information with such firms about the risks they might face. Although he declined to cite any specific examples of computer warfare, Deutch said he would list it as the second most worrisome threat to U.S. national security -- just below the threat posed by foreign chemical, nuclear, and biological arms. In answer to a question from Senator Sam Nunn (D Ga.) about whether the government was aware of the danger, Deutch said, "I don't know whether we will face an electronic Pearl Harbor, but we will have, I'm sure, some very unpleasant circumstances in this area or our allies will.... I'm certainly prepared to predict some very, very large and uncomfortable incidents in this area." [End] Final notice: Wash Post on the Web at: http://www.washingtonpost.com