Clinton Warns Grads of High-Tech Threats

Warning that America is increasingly vulnerable to computer attacks, President Clinton ordered the strengthening of defenses against terrorists, germ warfare and other unconventional security threats of the 21st century. In a commencement address at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Clinton said that critical parts of the nation’s infrastructure are already endangered. “Hackers break into government and business computers,” he said. “They can raid banks, run up credit card charges, extort money by threats to unleash computer viruses. If we fail to take strong action, then terrorists, criminals and hostile regimes could invade and paralyze these vital systems, disrupting commerce, threatening health, weakening our capacity to function in a crisis.” Meanwhile, Defense Secretary William S. Cohen told the U.S. military to go ahead with a plan to vaccinate all 2.4 million members of the armed forces against the deadly disease anthrax. Estimates are that the plan will cost about $130 million over six or seven years. The incentive for it was the discovery that Iraq, the most immediate focus of much U.S. military planning, once showed an interest in anthrax as a biological warfare agent.