Such a blow, whether from a terrorist attack, cyber incident, or natural disaster, could take out a substantial portion of the Internet and result in substantial economic consequences, the Roundtable Security Task Force report found.
The report highlights three major weaknesses in US cyber-preparedness. The first is the absence of a warning system to detect attacks or potential disruptions early on.
Next, the different public and private groups that would be in charge of restoring the Internet would have unclear and often overlapping responsibilities. And finally, the organizations that would lead such a recovery are underfunded and without critical resources for recovery.
The business group issued a series of recommendation to boost preparedness. The report calls for industry to take the lead in recovery efforts for telephone, Internet and broadcast services. The federal government should divert more funding to response program and more clearly define duties in the case of a big Internet outage.
Government and the private sector should also work more closely together to develop disaster plans and conduct large emergency demonstrations to better prepare for a real event.
