A series of hacking and virus incidents has dramatized the vulnerability of the United States to attacks launched in cyberspace by terrorists or hostile nations. In fact, U.S. authorities recently indicted a British man for hacking into 92 federal computer networks, including those used by the Department of Defense. A growing number of experts warn that the United States has grown too dependent upon networked computers using public telephone lines and that a small group of hackers working in an apartment halfway around the world could disrupt major sectors of the economy as well as the power grid, emergency-services operations and even the military. The Bush administration says it is committed to shoring up U.S. cybersecurity, but many experts say the measures taken so far are inadequate.

Patrick Marshall is a freelance writer in Seattle, Wash., and contributing writer for CQ Researcher who writes about public policy and technology issues. He is a computer columnist for The Seattle Times and holds a BA in anthropology from the University of California at Santa Cruz and a master's in international studies from the Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy at Tufts University.