The initial report from the National Security Studies Group/21st Century (aka Hart-Rudman Commission) concluded that the two most likely and most serious threats to the American homeland will come from cyber and biological attacks. Even though biological agents (naturally occurring) have attacked the human race throughout history and cyber attacks are an entirely new threat resulting from recent advances in information technology, these two threats have many similarities. Of the types of asymmetric threats currently available for use against a super power, biological and cyber are the only two capable of self-replication. They are also the only two weapons of mass effect capable of being "delivered" across international boundaries in a small brief case with little or no chances of detection. Scores of highly disruptive computers viruses can be carried in a Palm Pilot, and a few ounces of smallpox virus or even worse, a genetically altered virus could be sufficient to launch a catastrophic attack on American cities.

One of the most significant challenges of the biological threat is that it is all too often lumped together with weapons of mass destruction (nuclear and particularly chemical). This failure to understand the fundamental differences of the biological threat leads to inappropriate policies, resource allocations and responses ranging from the comical to the catastrophic.

Suggested Reading:

BIOLOGICAL:

Interview with Dr. Ken Alibek, The Journal of Homeland Security, ANSER, available at: http://www.homelanddefense.org/journal/Interviews/interview.cfm?interview=5

Interview with Dr. Serguei Popov. The Journal of Homeland Security, 1 November 2000. http://www.homelandsecurity.org/journal/Interviews/interview.cfm?interview=8

Inglesby, Thomas, Rita Grossman and Tara O'Toole, "A Plague on Your City: Observations from TOPOFF" Johns Hopkins Biodefense Quarterly, available at: http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/CID/journal/issues/v32n3/001347/001347.web.pdf

Cordesman, Anthony, "Homeland Defense: Defining the Boundaries", pp 7-52, Center for Strategic and International Studies, available at: http://www.csis.org/homeland/reports/biotechterrorasym.pdf

Combating Terrorism: Observations on the Threat of Chemical / Biological Terrorism, General Accounting Office Report GAO/T-NSIAD-00-50: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/ns00050t.pdf

CYBER:

The Defense Science Board. "Protecting the Homeland - Defensive Information Operations, 2000 Summer Study Executive Summary Volume II," March 2001, Executive Summary, pp. ES-1-8 and Introduction, pp. 1-18. http://www.acq.osd.mil/dsb/dio.pdf

The Report of the President's Commission on Critical Infrastructures. "Critical Foundations: Protecting America's Infrastructures," October 1997 (Introduction). http://www.ciao.gov/PCCIP/intro.pdf

"Report of the President of the United States on the Status of Federal Critical Infrastructure Protection Activities," January 2001 (Section I: Overview), pp. 2-7. http://www.ciao.gov/CIAO_Document_Library/CIP_2001_CongRept.pdf

Anthony H. Cordesman. "Defending America: Critical Infrastructure Protection and Informational Warfare", Center for Strategic and International Studies, 8 December 2000, Executive Summary, pages iii - xviii. and Introduction, pp. 24-55. http://www.csis.org/homeland/reports/dacriticalipiw.pdf

Cilluffo, Frank, "Cyber Attack: The National Protection Plan and its Privacy Implications" The Journal of Homeland Security http://www.homelanddefense.org/journal/Articles/article.cfm?article=9