Any country that can scrape together the price of a computer manual and that has a basic understanding of information systems infrastructure can train and motivate a misguided 'patriot.'

The blossoming of the Internet and its universal adoption have reinforced a trend toward interdependence of the world's political, economic and social systems.

That increasing interdependence, however, becomes frightening when one considers that a next-generation cyber terrorist will likely not represent an aggressive world power.

In terms of present-day vulnerability, such a terrorist could simply be a lone fanatic wielding a laptop. And the damage could be staggering.

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