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Pentagon Says Cyberattacks Can Count As Act of War
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."
If attacking an american military installation via the internet is deemed an act of war, then surely exposing it on such a vulnerable network in the first place must count as treason. I mean, who would knowingly place such a valuable (and apparently, easily accessed) facility that's so vital to the defence of the country, in such danger of attack in the first place?
politicians are like babies' nappies: they should both be changed regularly and for the same reasons
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...