Pentagon Says Cyberattacks Can Count As Act of War 282
suraj.sun tips news that the Pentagon has decided computer sabotage originating from another country can be classified as an act of war. "The Pentagon's first formal cyber strategy, unclassified portions of which are expected to become public next month, represents an early attempt to grapple with a changing world in which a hacker could pose as significant a threat to US nuclear reactors, subways or pipelines as a hostile country's military." This news comes only days after the Chinese military admitted the existence of a team of cyberwarriors. "The report will also spark a debate over a range of sensitive issues the Pentagon left unaddressed, including whether the US can ever be certain about an attack's origin, and how to define when computer sabotage is serious enough to constitute an act of war. These questions have already been a topic of dispute within the military."
Rumors on both Internets (Score:4, Informative)
The military has its own private network for the real important stuff.
Hence the comment in 2004 by then President Bush about "rumors on the internets that we're going to have a draft". He was referring to the public Internet, the Armed Forces internet, and any organization using an internet on 10.* [google.com].
Re:So can raids by SEAL Teams (Score:4, Informative)
Clearly, you don't get how double standards work.
Re:How on Earth... (Score:5, Informative)
1) It is all on the internet
2) SCADA systems, which are the control systems for everything from AC ducts to coolant pump controls on nuclear reactors, have major security vulnerabilities and they are plugged directly into the network via ethernet or wireless
3) These systems were designed and implemented by the lowest bidder
That's how.
This goes for pretty much every current control system in every power plant, water treatment plant, nuclear reactor, spill way, switching station, airport, train, medical center, etc...