Cyber War

             The article " A farewell to arms" was one of the most thought provoking articles that we've read.  With a hint of sarcasm, the article presents a well supported sketch of current events. John Carlin, the writer, wrote about our nations most vulnerable place of attack,  including Washington's outdated plan of defense.

    Carlin quoted Voltaire in saying that, "For those on the ramparts of the world's sole superpower, the digital winds are blowing an icy chill through the triumphant glow of the post-Cold War." 

       Although I am familiar with cyber-attacks, identity theft, and even cyber-bullying. I have not thought of the web as the new battle ground for mass destruction. This article was certainty an eye-opener; however, it did not surprise me. When an enemy is looking to destroy, they are going to go where it will hurt the most. We have come to depend on the internet, and if someone is seeking to destroy our nation they will pull that crutch out from under us, first. In just one day America would turn upside down without the internet: education, banking, business, shopping, social networking, billing, it would be a fiasco. 

     I thought the most interesting part of the article were the statements made years ago predicting such an attack:

                 "From former National Security Agency director John McConnell: "We're more                                  vulnerable than any other nation on earth." Or former CIA deputy director William                         Studeman: "Massive networking makes the US the world's most vulnerable target"                         ("and the most inviting," he might have added). Or former US Deputy Attorney                              General Jaime Gorelick: "We will have a cyber equivalent of Pearl Harbor at                               some point, and we do not want to wait for that wake-up call."    


     The was a time of war when we had to transition from swords, arrows, and catapults to firearms, and bombs. Our weapons changed, but the basics remained the same. There was a plane of defense. Tactics such as guerrilla warfare, and flanking still existed. We are now in a new age of weaponry, and vulnerability. We need to learn what digging cyber trenches will look-like to our oncoming enemies.   

The final remark from writer was this: 

                   "A little digitally induced confusion might be par for the course in, say, the telecom
                industry or even on the global financial markets. But warfare is something else
                altogether. And while the old Washington wheels slowly turn, information technology
                is undermining most of the world's accumulated knowledge about armed conflict - 
                since Sun Tzu, anyway."