When Hacking Leads to War

According to the BBC, the U.S. is set to make military retaliation an option in the face of cyber-attacks. This follows the hacking last month of top-tier defense contractor Lockheed Martin. While on one hand Washington notes this being a "last resort" measure, The Wall Street Journal quoted one military official as saying, "If you shut down our power grid, maybe we will put a missile down one of your smokestacks."

With the rise of tactical hacking against government-related interests on the rise around the world, this is no small matter. One need only recall 9/11 and the resulting Patriot Act to realize that attacks, whether real or virtual, that lead to military action can also have a direct impact on civil rights.

With eerie prescience, I touched on this matter with Amit Yoran, the first director of the Department of Homeland Security’s National Cyber Security Division. An excerpt is below, but you can read the whole interview in Architects of Tomorrow.

CPU: So are we in a state of cyber war?

Yoran: There is a high volume of cyber threats and attacks going on, but I’m cautious to use phrases like “cyber war” and “cyber terrorism.” When you do, you not only have a strong emotional connotation, but it also brings in a certain legal frame of reference—Title 10, the Department of Defense, and other constructs that may or may not make sense for a lot of cyber activities.

CPU: You’re saying, “Don’t make the problem bigger than it is, otherwise you might wind up losing some of the liberties you currently enjoy.”

Yoran: Exactly. If everyone believes that’s the right term and frame of reference—a “cyber war”— then perhaps they will believe that the Department of Defense is the best way for the United States to protect itself.  I don’t believe that’s the best outcome for us.