US Perfect Citizen cyber shield against attacks on critical infrasture
The US government has launched Perfect Citizen, a digital surveillance system run by the NSA to detect cyber attacks on critical infrastructure
Run by the NSA, Perfect Citizen will detect cyber attacks on private companies and government agencies running critical infrastructure such as the electricity grid, nuclear-power plants, and dams.
The surveillance would rely on a set of sensors deployed in computer networks for critical infrastructure that would be triggered by unusual activity suggesting an impending cyber attack, though it would not persistently monitor the whole system.
However, following media reports on Perfect Citizen, Judith Emmel, a National Security Agency (NSA) spokeswoman, said in an e-mail to Reuters "Perfect Citizen is purely a vulnerabilities-assessment and capabilities-development contract,"
"This is a research and engineering effort," she said. "There is no monitoring activity involved, and no sensors are employed in this endeavor."
