A NEW WAY TO WAGE WAR

Last week the New York Time's website was hacked. The site was down two days as a result of the attack.

 

I was impressed and concerned. Impressed and concerned that an entity as mighty as the New York Times could have its computer operation infiltrated and as a result shut down.

 

Within a day or two of the hacking, an organization known as the Syrian Electronic Army claimed responsibility. The Syrian Electronic Army is a known supporter of President Assad.

 

No person or organization in the United states has denied the Syrian Electronic Army's responsibility.

 

Turns out this was not the Syrian Electronic Army's first foray into the world of electronic disruption. The group had previously successfully hacked the Financial Times, the Washington Post, and made an attempt to hack CNN.

 

Twitter was also an object of the Syrian Electronic Army's hacking. President Obama and Oprah Winfrey had their Twitter sites hacked so that each sent out a tweet in support of Syria's President Assad.

 

As I became aware of these occurrences, it became clear that hacking was a new way of waging war. One that could be quicker and more destructive than a payload of bombs or missiles.

 

The geek (I use the term respectfully) world has a position of respectability and importance. An effective software design followed by the flick of a finger and a nation can be brought to its knees.

 

This is not pie in the sky. It is reality. It is the present.

 

Today, the New York Times. Tomorrow, a nation's electric power grids, water, fuel, communications, and transportation. The list is endless. A nation's military command systems, air defense networks, and weapons systems that require computers to work could instantaneously be rendered useless.

 

Leon Panetta resigned last year as Secretary of Defense. He warned at the time of cyber terrrorismand that the United States was not prepared to meet the threat. 

 

Panetta painted the picture clearly. The United States was facing a "cyber-Pearl Harbor" that would "paralyze the nation." He further commented that not only the federal government, but also private industry was way behind in providing protections against cyber war situations.

 

The most recent leaker of government documents is Edward Snowden. He was able to successfully escape the United States and now resides in Russia under the protection of the Russian government.

 

A couple of days following the New York Times hacking, one of the documents Snowden leaked was disclosed by the media. It is called on the face of the document the Black Budget. The Black Budget in its entirety ran on the internet. I briefly browsed through it.

 

The Black Budget is so named because no one is supposed to know its contents. For security reasons. It tells a selected few where U.S. tax dollars are being spent with regard to national security. The total budget for 2013 was $52 billion.

 

A portion of the budget was allocated for offensive cyber operations. Simply stated, the United States cost for doing to other countries what the Syrian Electronic Army did to the New York Times. The dollars allocated for defensive cyber operations were insignificant in comparison.

 

Nations and their citizens are not fools. People are aware that their mother countries are using computers to spy on others. The question is whether any one in the United States, besides Panetta, realizes how ill prepared we are to defend against a cyber attack. An attack that is comparable not only to Pearl Harbor, but also to 9/11.

 

If a nation has the capacity to engage in cyber espionage, it has the capacity to engage in cybersabotage. Most modern nations have developed such capacities.

 

The nations in the forefront of cyber activity are Iran, Russia and China. Makes sense.

 

There has already occurred history's first cyber war. It involved the United States and Iran.

 

It is alleged the United States cyber attacked an Iranian nuclear facility. The exercise infected 60,000 computers and it is claimed set Iran back two years in its nuclear development program.

 

Were you aware?

 

Iran in 2012 hacked United States banks. A hacking that seriously affected the operation of the banks.

 

Again, were you aware?

 

There are some who believe the Syrian Electronic Army is Iran's baby, regardless of the Syrian portion of its name.

 

The bottom line is time is being wasted. Valuable time. The United States must move its ass to catch up and be ready for the onslaught which most certainly will come. A certainty in today's world.