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It almost sounds like something straight out of a Warner Brothers' movie called The Conspiracy Theory except this time there's more than just Mel Gibson proclaiming subversive intent. Many experts feel targeted Internet attacks, via malicious viruses and illicit access, are on the horizon - and in some cases, already a reality. Don't believe it? Ask the United Bank of Switzerland customers who found themselves targeted by a virus that stole their PIN numbers and emailed them to hackers. Or the Israeli officials spammed by a political virus intent on publicizing the plight of the Palestinians.

C.L. Staten, CEO and Sr. Analyst at the Emergency Response & Research Institute (ERRI) feels targeted Internet attacks are more than just a remote possibility. Mr. Staten believes that the critical computer infrastructures of many nations "are increasingly becoming a center of gravity that will be attacked by various kinds of insurgent forces." He's not alone. As far back as 1996, the DOD reported that, although only 1 in 500 attacks against their systems were detected and reported, they were attacked approximately 250,000 times that year.

Following the May 1999 accidental bombing of the Chinese embassy by U.S. troops during the Kosovo conflict, Chinese hackers launched a coordinated attack against NATO computers as well as an estimated 1000 civilian Web sites. Additionally, at least four other U.S. government sites, including the Department of Energy were allegedly hacked by attacks originating from China. According to a report in The Daily Camera, "In the months after the NATO embassy bombing, the Liberation Army Daily -- a mouthpiece for China's Peoples Liberation Army -- called for the recruitment of civilian hackers and training of army soldiers in cyber-tactics." Indeed, during this same timeframe the Chinese government requested, and received, portions of antivirus vendors' virus libraries in exchange for "marketing privileges". Surprisingly, three vendors reportedly complied with the request: Symantec, Trend, and McAfee. Of course, whether that was bad timing, bad judgement, or just bad karma remains to be seen. A year and a half later the discovery of the virus trade was reported by Ted Bridis in the Wall Street Journal. In response, Commerce Undersecretary William Reinsch indicated the Bush administration may consider restricting the intentional export of malicious software to some countries.