Resources | Armchair comparative risk analysis

Two things are certain: death and cyber-terrorism

Number of known cyber-terror attacks: zero (source: White House cyber-terror advisor Richard Clarke 2/13/02) Number of deaths linked to cyber-terrorism: zero (source: White House cyber-terror advisor Richard Clarke 2/13/02) Number of cyber-terror experts killed by physical terrorism:at least 2 Congressional cyber-terror authority Ray Downey 9/11/01; killed in the World Trade Center attack FBI NIPC cyber-terror analyst Linda Franklin 10/14/02; killed by a terrorist sniper in Washington, D.C.

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First I could see, then I was blind

Number of blackouts in Georgetown (a toney 'burb of Washington, DC) during June 2001: 2 days in a 40-square block area near the Potomac River (source: Los Angeles Times 6/16/01) Number of rolling blackouts in the state of California in late spring of 2001: 2 days affected (source: Los Angeles Times 6/16/01) Number of blackouts in U.S. caused by hackers or cyber-terrorists since 1996: zero (source: no media reports; one insinuation by security expert Bruce Schneier was later proved invalid) Number of times officials from National Security Council or Pentagon have alleged cyber-terrorists will cause blackouts since 1998: more than 50 (source: Crypt Newsletter 1998-2001)

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A pox on both your houses

Number of times a "plague of crickets" in Utah caused governor to appeal to federal government for assistance: one (source: New York Times 6/18/01) Estimated cost of Utah's "plague of crickets" in June 2001: $25 million (source: New York Times 6/18/01) Estimated cost of the LoveBug (aka ILoveYou) virus: $2.6 - $15 billion (source: Computer Economics Inc. and Lloyds of London) Number of times LoveBug virus caused U.S. state governors to appeal to federal government for assistance: zero (source: no media reports, no urban legends)

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