“For the first time” a simulated cyber attack “is going to be war-gamed, in public, for all the country to see”

Feb. 11, 2010

Washington, D.C. – Today on TheAtlantic.com, Marc Ambinder previewed the Bipartisan Policy Center’s (BPC) upcoming Cyber ShockWave, a simulated cyber attack on the United States, which will take place on Tuesday, February 16, 2010. Cyber ShockWave will provide an unprecedented look at how the government would develop a real-time response to a large-scale cyber crisis affecting much of the nation.

Tuesday’s “cyber attack is going to be war-gamed, in public, for all the country to see. It will be quite realistic, featuring senior intelligence and national security officials, including former directors of intelligence agencies and combatant commands and homeland security advisers,” wrote Ambinder. In the scenario, “the U.S. will be hit by a massive, crippling cyber attack from an unknown entity. Key players will convene in the White House situation room and plan the response, from mitigation to (possibly) retaliation.” Read the full story on TheAtlantic.com here.

The BPC’s Cyber ShockWave will take place on February 16, 2010 at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Washington, DC. The simulation will begin at 10:00AM followed by a question and answer session with the participants, the audience and media.

Former senior administration officials and national security experts participating include Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff as National Security Advisor, Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte as Secretary of State, White House Homeland Security Advisor Fran Townsend as Secretary of Homeland Security, Director of Central Intelligence John McLaughlin as Director of National Intelligence, Senator Bennett Johnston as Secretary of Energy, Director of the National Economic Council Stephen Friedman as Secretary of Treasury, Deputy Attorney General Jamie Gorelick as Attorney General, White House Press Secretary Joe Lockhart as Counselor to the President, General Counsel of the National Security Agency Stewart Baker as Cyber Coordinator, and Deputy Commander U.S. European Command Charles F. Wald as Secretary of Defense.

To learn more about Cyber ShockWave, please visit our website. The event is open to print and online media, but space is limited. Media interested in attending the event should request a credential via email at press@bipartisanpolicy.org by February 12, 2010.

Cyber ShockWave is sponsored by General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, SMobile Systems, Southern Company, Georgetown University, and PayPal. Symantec Corporation also contributed to this event.

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Cyber ShockWave, Homeland Security Project