Bipartisan Group of Former Senior Administration Officials Respond to Simulated Cyber Terror Attack

Feb. 4, 2010

Washington, D.C. - The Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) announced today that it will host Cyber ShockWave, a simulated cyber attack on the United States. Cyber ShockWave will provide an unprecedented look at how the government would develop a response to a cyber crisis. Cyber ShockWave will take place on February 16, 2010, at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Washington, D.C.

The Cyber ShockWave simulation, created by former CIA Director General Michael Hayden and the BPC’s National Security Preparedness Group, led by the co-chairs of the 9/11 Commission, Governor Thomas Kean and Congressman Lee Hamilton, follows the acclaimed series of Oil ShockWave simulations conducted in 2007 by the BPC and Securing America’s Future Energy (SAFE). Oil ShockWave addressed dependence on foreign oil as a national security threat.

Cyber ShockWave, developed in partnership with General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, SMobile Systems, Southern Company and Georgetown University, will highlight the immediate, real dangers of cyber-terrorism by bringing together a bipartisan group of former senior administration and national security officials playing the roles of Cabinet members. The participants, whose mission is to advise the president and mount a response to the attack, will not know the scenario in advance. They will react to the threat in real time, as intelligence and news reports drive the simulation, shedding light on how the difficult split-second decisions must be made to respond to an unfolding and often unseen threat.

Following the simulation, there will be a post-event discussion with the participants and partners to discuss what the U.S. government can do to avoid a real-world cyber attack of this magnitude and what can be learned from the exercise.

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

WHO: Bipartisan Policy Center

WHAT: Cyber ShockWave

WHEN: Tuesday, February 16, 2010 from 10:00am – 1:00pm

WHERE: Mandarin Oriental Hotel, 1330 Maryland Avenue SW, Washington, D.C. 20024

The event is open to 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 and Georgetown University.

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Cyber Event