Cyberoperations against the U.S. thus far have been largely confined to reconnaissance and mapping. But full-scale attacks may not be far off. Recently confirmed Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says there's good reason to believe a sneak cyberattack on the country's key power supplies is likely. Moreover, an FBI cyberexpert says the only reason cyberjihadists have not unleashed a major strike is a lack of terrorist leadership focus on organizing the efforts of Middle East hackers. Technologically savvy and religiously motivated irregulars are at hand, according to an Oxford University study called "The Engineers of Jihad," says Steven Chabinsky, deputy assistant director of the FBI's cyberdivision. "They found that a disproportionate amount of people in the jihad were engineers of one type or another at both the planning and operational suicide bomber levels," Chabinsky says. After examining a group of nonmilitant engineers they found some common threads. "They were very results-oriented, unlike scientists," he says. And, "they were more likely to be conservative in outlook and religious.
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