Wednesday, July 31, 2013

How Cyber War Can Lead To Real War

The Future of Security – from The Economist KAL’s Cartoon

When Would Cyber War Lead to Real War? -- Vincent Manzo, Defense One

When would attacks on satellites or computer networks justify retaliation with conventional weapons?

Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, recently addressed this question at a forum at the Brookings Institute:

“[T]here is an assumption out there, I think, and I would like to disabuse you of it, that a cyber attack that had destructive effects would be met by a cyber response…That's not necessarily the case…And I think that what the president of the United States would insist upon, actually, is that he had the options and the freedom of movement to decide what kind of response we would employ. And that's why I say I don't want to have necessarily a narrow conversation about what constitutes war in cyber, because the response could actually be in…one of the other traditional domains.”

In other words, the method of an attack does not dictate the means of reprisal.

Read more ....

My Comment: The U.S. position is very clear .... a cyber attack may not mean a cyber response .... what it may mean is a conventional military response. Unfortunately .... everyone is pursuing their own agenda on this issue.

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