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For years we've heard breathless reports about the potential for cyber-attacks to shut down electric grids and transit systems. Even minor cross-border digital incidents have gotten tabloid treatment.
Now we know what a real cyber-attack looks like. And it looks pretty good from here.
This one came at the welcome expense of the Iranian nuclear program. It involved no loss of life, invasion of territory or release of radioactivity. Yet the "Stuxnet" computer virus is said to have set back Tehran's nuclear arms race by as much as four years.
Geek Squad 1; Rogue State 0.
Published reports in recent months have provided ever-more-detailed accounts of the feat: American and Israeli experts built a copy of Iran's uranium enrichment facility at Natanz, using identical equipment. They developed a program that acted remotely, hiding in the background until it could infiltrate the control systems of centrifuges used in the production of nuclear fuel last year.
The malicious software directed the sensitive machines to spin so fast that about one-fifth of the total were wrecked, published reports say. Iranian technicians saw nothing amiss as they monitored their instruments, even as their costly machinery flamed out. The code was so specific that it couldn't be tweaked and used against its makers, though certainly good actors and bad have taken note of its success.
So far, the U.S. military has wisely resisted the calls of self-interested vendors to ramp up cyberwarfare spending. The most recent defense authorization bill contains only modest new cybersecurity provisions.
In fact, many of the nation's most valuable targets are in private hands. More important, so is the talent needed to innovate in a fast-moving technical field. Since one Bill Gates could equal an army in virtual combat, it makes sense for the armed forces to work with the private sector.
We see encouraging signs of the services doing just that. In a recent interview with the newsletter "Inside the Pentagon," Vice Adm. Barry McCullough III, who runs U.S. Fleet Cyber Command, noted that boosting cyber capabilities without a budget increase will mean reshaping the military workforce.
New career tracks could enable naval officers with cyberskills to bypass requirements to go to sea before standing for promotion, McCullough said. He's also open to seeding his reserves with tech-savvy nerds who might not look like Navy material on the surface: "Maybe you wouldn't want them in uniform," the admiral said, "but they're really smart cyber dudes."
It took a long time for the military to warm up to drones. Planes without flyboys were just too much for the old guard to accept, until their effectiveness became obvious. In the new arena of cyberwarfare, we need all brains on deck.
Now we know what a real cyber-attack looks like. And it looks pretty good from here.
This one came at the welcome expense of the Iranian nuclear program. It involved no loss of life, invasion of territory or release of radioactivity. Yet the "Stuxnet" computer virus is said to have set back Tehran's nuclear arms race by as much as four years.
Geek Squad 1; Rogue State 0.
Published reports in recent months have provided ever-more-detailed accounts of the feat: American and Israeli experts built a copy of Iran's uranium enrichment facility at Natanz, using identical equipment. They developed a program that acted remotely, hiding in the background until it could infiltrate the control systems of centrifuges used in the production of nuclear fuel last year.
The malicious software directed the sensitive machines to spin so fast that about one-fifth of the total were wrecked, published reports say. Iranian technicians saw nothing amiss as they monitored their instruments, even as their costly machinery flamed out. The code was so specific that it couldn't be tweaked and used against its makers, though certainly good actors and bad have taken note of its success.
So far, the U.S. military has wisely resisted the calls of self-interested vendors to ramp up cyberwarfare spending. The most recent defense authorization bill contains only modest new cybersecurity provisions.
In fact, many of the nation's most valuable targets are in private hands. More important, so is the talent needed to innovate in a fast-moving technical field. Since one Bill Gates could equal an army in virtual combat, it makes sense for the armed forces to work with the private sector.
We see encouraging signs of the services doing just that. In a recent interview with the newsletter "Inside the Pentagon," Vice Adm. Barry McCullough III, who runs U.S. Fleet Cyber Command, noted that boosting cyber capabilities without a budget increase will mean reshaping the military workforce.
New career tracks could enable naval officers with cyberskills to bypass requirements to go to sea before standing for promotion, McCullough said. He's also open to seeding his reserves with tech-savvy nerds who might not look like Navy material on the surface: "Maybe you wouldn't want them in uniform," the admiral said, "but they're really smart cyber dudes."
It took a long time for the military to warm up to drones. Planes without flyboys were just too much for the old guard to accept, until their effectiveness became obvious. In the new arena of cyberwarfare, we need all brains on deck.
Copyright © 2011, Chicago Tribune
