Fergie's Tech Blog

Pentagon: Cyber Attacks Can Justify Armed Response

Grant Gross and Jaikumar Vijayan write on ComputerWorld:

The U.S. military is prepared to use physical attacks in response to cyberattacks, the U.S. Department of Defense said Tuesday.


The agency, preparing its first cyberspace strategy, is prepared to defend U.S. national security through "all available means," a DOD spokeswoman said.


The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that the DOD's Defense Strategy for Operating in Cyberspace, due to be released within the next month, will conclude that physical attacks may be justified in response to cyberattacks on U.S. targets.


The DOD is prepared to "conduct the full spectrum of cyberspace operations" in response to a cyberattack, but the agency's potential response is not limited to cybermeasures, the spokeswoman said. "All appropriate options would be on the table," as they would be in response to a physical attack, she said.

posted by Fergie @ 5/31/2011 05:12:00 PM