Preventing 9/11 in the cyber world.

• Position: CYBERSECURITY

The evidence that cyber threats are very real and growing is ubiquitous. Earlier this year, U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano warned Congress that a "cyber 9/11" could be imminent and strongly urged lawmakers to pass legislation governing cybersecurity, which it failed to do last year.

President Obama made it clear that cybersecurity is an issue to be taken seriously by signing an executive order that directs the National Institute of Standards and Technology to develop cybersecurity performance standards and methods to reduce risks to the country's critical infrastructure (CI). Among other things, it also directs DHS and agencies to proactively encourage CI owners and operators to voluntarily adopt the standards.

Given the increased volume and strategic nature of cyberattacks, many are convinced they are state-sponsored, and many are pointing fingers at China as the origin of the most sophisticated hackers. It's becoming a potentially lethal weapon of modern warfare.

For example, Team Cymru, a Florida-based Internet security firm, recently revealed to The Verge that its analysts have uncovered a massive overseas hacking operation in which one terabyte of data is being stolen on a daily basis.

A study released by the American computer security firm Mandiant detailed that company's efforts to track down a group of "cyber commandos" responsible for hacking the networks of hundreds of American companies over several years to steal trade secrets. Mandiant traced members of the group back to a Shanghai-based military unit. The claim is supported by reports from other security firms and all 16 of the U.S. intelligence agencies, according to the New York Times.

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The group in question, dubbed "Comment Crew" by some of its U.S. victims, has allegedly stolen terabytes of data from companies such as Coca-Cola and reportedly is...