Computer security researchers are warning that a new version of the sophisticated cyberweapon that sabotaged Iran’s nuclear program could be the precursor to a new wave of cyberattacks.

Scientists and officials from a range of organizations gathered in Washington, D.C. to discuss plans for dealing with massive solar flares that could disrupt modern communications infrastructure. "A similar storm today might knock us for a loop," Lika Guhathakurta, a solar physicist at NASA headquarters, said. "Modern society depends on high-tech systems such as smart power grids, GPS and satellite communications — all of which are vulnerable to solar storms."

Developed nations have become "dangerously over-reliant" on satellite navigation systems such as GPS, which could break down or be attacked with devastating results, British engineers said Tuesday.

Space weather could pose serious problems here on Earth in the coming years with the potential to take down telecommunications and power grids, according to the chief of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The sun's erratic and sometimes volatile behavior has the potential to cause real problems here on Earth, and protecting our planet from a possible "Solar Katrina" in 2013 will require an international effort, according to scientists who gathered recently for a meeting about the effects of solar activity.

Over the last few decades, western civilisations have busily sown the seeds of their own destruction. Our modern way of life, with its reliance on technology, has unwittingly exposed us to an extraordinary danger: plasma balls spewed from the surface of the sun could wipe out our power grids, with catastrophic consequences.

The recently foiled terrorist strike at an oil-processing plant in Saudia Arabia highlights al Qaeda's long-term strategy of attacking the global energy infrastructure.

The Department of Homeland Security's effort to extend its antiterrorism campaign overseas by enlisting help from importers and foreign ports has been so flawed that the program may have made it easier at times to smuggle unconventional weapons into the United States, Congressional officials say.

Experts have long warned that the nation's power, transportation and communications systems are vulnerable to "cyberattacks" that could devastate the economy and cause huge damage to life and property. Now a new government report has concluded that far too little is being done to close these gaps.