Fragile web - John Michael McConnell, former US director of national intelligence

The failed attempt to bomb an aircraft bound for Detroit on 25 December 2009 has focused US and media attention on shortcomings within the United States' intelligence community, and particularly the apparent failure of different intelligence agencies to share and connect information.

Yet even as US President Barack Obama is calling for the US intelligence community to tighten its systems, Mike McConnell, former director of national intelligence (2007-2009), told Jane's in an interview before the December attack that the US has another vulnerable area: cyber security.

Cyber attacks could pose a major threat to US critical infrastructure, according to McConnell. He stated: "A relatively small number of attackers could disrupt electric power, they could attack the financial system and they could attack the transportation system. If they did it that at the right time of the year, in freezing weather for example, it would cause traffic disruption and if it were sustained for some period of time, you could imagine the chaos that would ensue."