As the sixth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks draws near and airports are on high alert for possible "dry runs" from terrorists, the likelihood of cyberterrorism has yet again surfaced for discussion in information security circles.

Some have scoffed at the assertion that cyberterrorism is a real threat today. But with the power of botnets, SCADA systems becoming less proprietary and the recent attacks on Estonia, have we reached an inflection point where we need to take this more seriously? Could we actually be engaged in an Internet war soon? Are some nation states hostile actors with the capability of conducting cyberterrorism? And how does the private sector also arm itself against such attacks?