Campus Quotes
Dr. Richard Altizer
Earthquakes
Green Takes Tourney Title
As the school year comes to an end, what is your main focus? Page 2.
The accounting professor was recognized by the Oklahoma Society of CPAs. Page 5.
Seismic activity has increased across the globe, and in Oklahoma. Page 6.
Andrew Green takes first at Airforce Invitational. Page 8.
APR 15, 2010
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By Jack Chancey / Staff Writer America’s vulnerability to cyberattacks could create a nightmare scenario for a country whose economic and military interests rely heavily on cyberspace. The United States military is especially vulnerable because of its extensive use of computer networks to link nearly all facets of operation. Military cyberattacks “Last year we had a glimpse of the future face of war,” President Obama said in a May 2009 speech. “As Russian tanks rolled into Georgia, cyber attacks crippled Georgian government Web sites. For all these reasons, it’s now clear this cyber threat is one of the most serious economic and national security challenges we face as a nation.” After witnessing the cyberattacks in Georgia, it is apparent countries
around the world are developing capabilities to fight a cyberwar. It has been the United States superior informational advantage that has given the military leverage in recent wars. The gap is becoming narrower though. As technology spreads throughout the world and the United States, enemies become more capable at using new technologies. Defense officials say the Pentagon’s network system is targeted 5,000 times a day. An attack can be as simple as malicious software downloaded on a computer, all the way up to a crippling attack that can shut down the government’s computer networks. Obama made clear in his May 2009 speech that computer networks are strategic national assets and promised to defend against cyberattacks. Though America’s defenses still remain weak, the U.S. military is actively planning for its own cyberattacks. According to National Public
“We have extremely good offensive capabilities and almost nothing in the way of defense ...” Radio, the Pentagon’s cyberwarriors have detailed plans to take down power, telecommunication and transportation systems just about anywhere. The gravest challenge facing the military is what experts call the “attribution problem,” meaning U.S. intelligence agencies would have a hard time determining where an attack came from and attributing it to a location or person. “We have extremely good offensive capabilities and almost nothing in the way of defense,” Richard Clarke, a former White House cybersecurity adviser, told NPR Following Obama’s speech concerning cyberattacks, an exercise de-
picting cyberwarfare was performed by the Bipartisan Policy Center. Participants included 10 former White House security advisers and other top officials. Results showed the United States was unprepared for cyber threats. The scenario included the shutdown of more than 20 million smartphones followed by the crippling of the Eastern seaboard’s power grid. Former Secretary of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff, who took part in the exercise, said in a press release on the Bipartisan Policy Center Web site that cyberterrorism “ought to be treated as a threat of sufficient seriousness that we give it the priority attention we’ve given weapons of mass destruction.” Those involved in the exercise agreed bipartisan legislation dealing with the risks of cyberattacks was needed quickly. “It raises an issue of the system’s responsibility to be able to come
together in a nonpartisan way and figure out the answer to questions as opposed to kicking the can down the road until we’re in an emergency,” Chertoff said in the press release. While quick legislative action is warranted, legal issues dealing with personal privacy and national security need to be weighed out. The legislation could look similar to what is seen with the Patriot Act, passed after 9/11, which toes the line between personal privacy and national security. “The smart thing is to prepare now, to do the legislation now, to do the bipartisan work now, to do the intelligence work now, the foreign policy work,” former Deputy Director of Central Intelligence John McLaughlin, who participated in the BPC exercise, said in the Bipartisan Policy Center press release.
Continued on page 4
Sports
WEATHER H 75° L 59°
CHEER, POM SQUADS WIN CHAMPIONSHIP By Tiffany Brown / Staff Writer
TOMORROW H 69° L 47°
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DID YOU KNOW? In the United States, agriculture is the major source of solid waste (51% of the total).
University of Central Oklahoma’s cheer and pom squads won the Cheerleading competition and continues their reign as an award winning team. On April 7-11,the 2010 Association/National Dance Alliance Collegiate Championships were held in Daytona, Fla. The large co-ed squad won their fourth consecutive national championship title, while the small co-ed cheerleading and pom squad followed suit winning second place titles. “We were a little nervous going into the competition, but it was really exciting,” Ashley Gardner, a cheerleader/public relations major, said. Gardner has competed in three national competitions with UCO’s cheerleading squad. “We were just so overjoyed to know we had won again.” The team had began preparing for this year’s competition in summer 2009. “We started [training] back at camp
in July,” Gardner said. We had two squads and we practiced three times a week, Gardner said. One practice was held at 6 a.m. the other two at night. The team’s major strategy going into the competition was its routines. “Our goal was to hit a clean routine and make sure all the stunts were hit,” Gardner said. “We knew if we could hit our routine, we would walk away winners in our books.” The cheer squads not only won national titles, they won the crowd over with their routines. After competing against cheerleading teams across the nation, Both squads had the highest crowd scores in their divisions. We are not technically a larger coed team, some of the other squads have more boys on their team, but with our coach’s knowledge of the sport we were able to do well in competition, Gardner said. “David has always been a part of our success,” she said.
PHOTO BY GARETT FISBECK
TODAY
UCO cheer and pom squads won a national championship in the 2010 Association/National Dance Alliance Collegiate Championships.
UCO’s cheer squads are coached by David Owen and the pom squad is coached by Rachel Hendricks. UCO’s pom squad won its first national title since 2006 during the competition. The cheer and dance teams have won eight national titles
since 2002. The team will hold several practices to stay in shape, but they will not begin practicing for next year’s competition until after Cheerleading tryouts, which will be held in the coming month.