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U.S. Air Force Prepares for War in Cyberspace
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ShareJuly 26, 2007 2:18 PM
The United States Air Force is actively seeking "cyberspace attack scenarios," according to documents posted on a government Web site for contractors.
The attack strategies should "disrupt, deny, degrade, destroy or deceive an adversary's information system," according to the Air Force Requests for Information (RFIs) obtained by ABC News.
Experts say this move marks a change in the traditionally secret world of cyber warfare.
"This is a significant development," said Amit Yoran, former White House cybersecurity czar. "Historically cyber warfare remained in the very classified arenas of government."
Marine Gen. James Cartwright told the House Armed Services Committee earlier this year that the Air Force's new Strategic Command is charged with conducting cyber attacks in support of assigned missions.
Click Here for Full Blotter Coverage.
"Cyberspace has emerged as a war-fighting domain not unlike land, sea and air," said Cartwright.
Experts say so much of military logistics are dependent on computer systems that any kind of disruption would give the attacker an advantage.
Richard Clarke, former White House counterterrorism czar and an ABC News consultant, said there is a fine line between cyber espionage and warfare.
"One is passive intelligence collection, which can be done by spy agencies; and the other is warfare which supposedly is to be done by the Air Force and others," he said.
Clarke said frequently the only difference between espionage and warfare is a couple of key strokes.
"If you have broken into something in order to steal information from it, then you don't have to do much more in order to bring down that network," he said.
A spokeswoman for the Air Force's Cyberspace Command said they are still working out issues regarding what the military legally can and cannot do to adversaries' cybersystems.
Yoran said both Iraq wars had cyberfronts, but they were kept secret. Other countries have weathered cyber attacks attacks as well.
Earlier this year Estonia claimed that state-sponsored Russian hackers had attacked official Web sites in retaliation for the removal of a Soviet-era monument in its capital, Tallinn.
Russia has denied the allegation.
Government e-mail and private online banking had to be shut down temporarily while telecommunications companies and news organizations were also affected.
Do you have a tip for Brian Ross and the Investigative Team?
July 26, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (14)
The White House has made it a crime to dissent from THAT WAR. But--
There is NO LAW forbidding DISSENT from Complacency, Pandering to Crime, and SILENCE.
Posted by: Emily Cragg | Jul 26, 2007 2:48:36 PM
since when is dissent a crime? the crime is not stopping this before it ends horribly.
Posted by: May-Leigh Soreux | Jul 26, 2007 3:44:47 PM
I can say very easy that I have total controll of the human world. What will you all do now? Will you do the nothing what Bush is becaming, by opositing to my sun-energy-system? Will you kill me? :)))))))))) Will you find me? :))))) Many peoples of this world are nothing more but almost little robbots. I am not. They are little tireds. I am not. There future is complete dead! My future is very bright, sun-bright. Nobody will remeber them after few thousands years. I can never die. Yours all tryings to kill me, make me complete and invincible power in univers. Thank you :)
Posted by: Ioan Dumitru | Jul 26, 2007 5:35:28 PM
If there were a war in cyberspace what would that mean for the stock market???
Posted by: Homey | Jul 27, 2007 3:43:01 AM
What will happen to the stock market if there is another attack?
Posted by: Peter Deets | Jul 27, 2007 6:59:35 AM
Well, lets hope our geeks can beat up their geeks.
Posted by: Tom | Jul 27, 2007 11:03:25 AM
THREE WORDS TO TAKE DOWN A TERRORIST NETWORK - E M P . Electromagnetic Pulse from a tacticle nuclear weapon should do the trick. And the colateral dammage from such a weapon is sure to take out the bad guys using the computers.
Posted by: Jerry M | Jul 27, 2007 3:18:12 PM
It sounds to me like a veiled threat against liberal bloggers. Perhaps because I am one. Perhaps because blogging has changed the political landscape, and guaranteed a free press.
Posted by: Paul J. Norton | Jul 28, 2007 8:46:25 PM
"It sounds to me like a veiled threat against liberal bloggers. Perhaps because I am one. Perhaps because blogging has changed the political landscape, and guaranteed a free press." --
Umm, Paul...? That sounds like an ego maniacal thing to type. You're assuming that a) people actually read your blog, and b)that a significant percentage of said people actually care what you blog about. Furthermore, any general announcement by a government, military, or industrial entity is somehow a personal threat, directed at you and anyone you might try to draw a sense of your own identity from. Get over yourself. Attn: EVERYONE! We all owe Paul big time because he personally has guaranteed ALL of us a free press. Yawn...Whatever.
Posted by: bandanaman | Jul 29, 2007 7:35:39 AM
NO SECRECY--TRUTH OUT NOW: turn ICE onto White House Connection to 9/11--or expect tax revolt.
Posted by: Abdullah | Jul 31, 2007 3:46:04 PM
Why do only crazy people post comments on abcnews.com?
Posted by: Jake | Aug 1, 2007 8:40:42 PM
Dissent was defiantly illegal in the US during WW1. One could do nothing to interfere with the war effort. Guilty people were deported or worse.
WW2 in the US saw Japanese held in detention camps.
During the Viet Nam era people were tried and jailed for public speeches.
Probably the period of war in US history that hat most freedom to dissent is the Iraq war.
Posted by: Isador Vulcan | Aug 2, 2007 3:15:45 PM
Honestly, I think this is the beginning of end of the world. I honestly don't think that the Vote of '08 is going to help anything. There is way too many things going on with the world today and I thank god I have not yet decided to bring life into this world. I just pray everyday that if we do get attacked again and I am in the cross fires I just want to go as painlessly as possible. So to those who read this, cherish life now, cause you never know what can happen tomorrow let alone in a minute..
Posted by: patrice | Aug 3, 2007 10:14:07 AM
The Jihadist "geeks" already do this and have done this kind of attack. An attack can bring down a whole network system, if the network system is not designed with a possible attack in mind.
Posted by: Desert Poc | Aug 10, 2007 2:07:29 AM
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