The modern menace could use the net to gain entry to all sorts of crucial infrastructure, and by shutting down one system cause a cascading effect, which could be devastating.
"What happens if there is a cascading effect on our interconnected network of cyber technology and the critical infrastructures of water, sewer, emergency response and transportation, food delivery (fail)?" said former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno this week at a terrorism and technology conference in Whistler.
"We must not wait for a cyber-space Pearl Harbor to strike us before we begin to take steps to protect our economic lifeblood."
Reno, who was paid $75,000 US to speak at the conference, was just one of the headline speakers.
The head of Canada’s spy agency, Ward Elcock also spoke, as did the former head of the FBI Louis Freeh.
All warned the over 370 delegates of the need to form partnerships between government security agencies and high tech business if the "net-wars" are to the won by the good guys.
They also encouraged all levels of government to start working together.
"There is more than enough to be done without worrying about turf wars and who gets the credit," said Reno.
On the Sunday before the conference the CBS news show 60 Minutes aired a segment which described Canada as a haven for terrorists.
The hallways of the conference buzzed with the fallout from the story.
Director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service Elcock panned the story, which was rooted in comments from a former employee of CSIS.
"Such people have sought to find a haven in Canada," he told conference attendees.
"Hardly surprising, given our reputation as with other wealthy Western democracies, for openness —both for money and people — along with one of the most multi-ethnic populations in the world drawn in part from areas of conflict around the world."
His sentiments were echoed by Louis Freeh, former director of the FBI.
"I don’t think that is a fair characterization and I certainly wouldn’t agree with that," he said.
"If you look at places where major terrorist attacks have taken place the nature of some of these groups, the al-Qaeda group in particular, which is active in 62 counties, uses people such as fishermen, teachers and store clerks for these particular operations.
"So I don’t think any country, and certainly not Canada, is accurately called a haven for terrorists.
"What Canada, and the United States, and all of our major countries are, are transit points for individuals who don’t fit the classic prototype of a terrorist."
Former chief of strategic planning for CSIS David Harris told 60 Minutes that he believed 50 terrorist organizations were operating here and warned Americans they were at risk.
That figure has been popping up ever since it was provided to a Senate committee in 1998.
But according to CSIS director Elcock: "On any given day, the number of our targets could vary considerably, in either direction, as we look at or discard or acquire new or different targets.
"The targets therefore reveal little or nothing about our level of successor, indeed, the nature of the problem."
The conference titled Strategies for Public Safety Transformation and organized by Reboot North America Ltd. and the federal solicitor general’s office was planned before terrorists flew commercial airliners in the World Trade Center in New York last September.
That horrific event destroyed the complacency the US security agencies and others enjoyed while they believed attacks like this could never happen at home.
It also made participation in a conference on terrorism and technology more relevant than ever.
The conference was very low-key, with media only being informed about it days before it took place.
Security was tight but subtle. There was no appreciable effect on the community, or on guests generally at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler, where the conference was held.
Already similar conferences are being planned for Montreal, Florida and China.
"The conference was planned before the events of 9-11," said conference chairman and Reboot spokesman Greg Spievak.
"So we did have to increase the scope of it and we did manage to be first off the block to really take a look at the technology component of the solutions that have to be put in place to fight terrorism."
For any conference to be successful said Spievak, three components must be in place: good speakers, interesting topics and a great location.
"We certainly could not have had a more pristine setting to talk about issues around justice," he said.
"And obviously I am a British Columbian so I wanted to get all these folks out here to say we are secure and we have a wonderful place. And of course people all over the world have heard of it because of the bid for 2010 (Winter Olympic Games)."
Security was a key concern, but said Spievak, full credentials for all conference attendees were checked and the conference was kept under wraps until the last minute.
"Obviously when you have the elite of the justice world here (you) don’t want any incidents to happen," said Spievak.
"Security has been stepped up. You may not see it but there is quite a lot of security.
"I think it is a bit of a test case. We are published on the web so anyone trying to find out about the conference and anyone doing a search on Janet Reno or Louis Freeh could find out where they were going to be. So there is that potential of risk but we feel we have mitigated it."
"We felt we had it covered but I have to be honest, you never know."
