The Foreign Service Journal, December 2005

D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 5 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 43 hen terrorists detonated a car bomb near the American embassy in Lima, Peru, in March 2002, killing nine people including an embassy guard, it was a stark reminder of the constant threat facing U.S. diplo- matic facilities operating overseas. Bombings, shootings and even kidnappings for ransom are the tools of the enemy’s trade. However, for the ultra-sensitive computer systems used by the State Department and other federal government agencies, the rise of computer-literate terrorists, nation-states and criminals is a virtual shot across the bow: U.S. embassies and con- F O C U S O N I T A N D D I P L O M A C Y D EFENDING S TATE A GAINST O NES AND Z EROS Valerie Sinclair W A COMPLETE SECURITY STRATEGY MUST EMBRACE NOT ONLY ROBUST PHYSICAL SAFEGUARDS BUT ALSO COMPLEMENTARY CYBERSECURITY MEASURES . B Y S TEVEN E. R OBERTS