German Government Practices for Cyberwar

For the first time, Germany is going to practice for a war held over the
Internet. In the latest edition of “Der Spiegel,” the news magazine reports
that German authorities, major corporations and the German
Ministry of the Interior want to follow the lead of their American
counterparts and take part in a business game this year that simulates a
coordinated attack on German computer systems.

According to the magazine, the scenario envisions that a “Mafia-like,
internationally operating group” wants to force Germany to “withdraw its
military contingent from Kosovo.” To achieve this goal, the band of
criminals first penetrates the computers of a Berlin energy supplier and
“brings the entire energy supply system to a standstill for several hours.”

While the players – including experts from the police, Deutsche Telekom and
the Ministry of the Interior – attempt to repair the damage, the strategy
paper calls for the attackers to sabotage large portions of the
capital city’s telephone network. Specially programmed computers are
supposed to block telephones by continuous dialing, and a criminal is to
paralyze the computer center of a major bank.

According to “Der
Spiegel,” the main purpose of the game is to promote the realization that in
a crisis situation in a computer-networked world, industry and the state are
dependent upon one another and must therefore work
together closely.