Tuesday, April 28, 2009

In Cyberweapons Race, Questions Linger Over U.S. Offensive Capability - Series - NYTimes.com

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Over the decades, a number of limits on action have been accepted — if not always practiced. One is the prohibition against assassinating government leaders. Another is avoiding attacks aimed at civilians. Yet in the cyberworld, where the most vulnerable targets are civilian, there are no such rules or understandings. If a military base is attacked, would it be a proportional, legitimate response to bring down the attacker’s power grid if that would also shut down its hospital systems, its air traffic control system or its banking system?

“We don’t have that for cyber yet,” one senior Defense Department official said, “and that’s a little bit dangerous.”

In Cyberweapons Race, Questions Linger Over U.S. Offensive Capability - Series - NYTimes.com

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