U.S. planning for electronic 'Pearl Harbor'

America's military is preparing for a new kind of warfare. It's warfare in cyberspace, and some military officials say a cyberattack would result in an "electronic Pearl Harbor." It could shut down electricity, banking systems, cell phones and other electronic tools. It would silence systems that work on computers and the Internet. It could create a level of chaos never seen before, they predict.

U.S. military officials are hard at work ramping up their defenses for this warfare. One report says it will result in a war without men and machines in less than 10 years.

"Five or 10 years from now, senior defense officials believe, an enemy may not need soldiers, ships or aircraft to strike hard at the United States," says a report prepared for the U.S. Air Force Association. "The preferred tool may be information-based attacks carried out in cyberspace."

It's little comfort that U.S. military officials know about this, or are incorporating cyber technology into their operations. The Air Force is setting up a full-fledged cybercommand with the same stature as its other commands.

"America is under widespread attack in cyberspace," Gen. James E. Cartwright, then-commander of the U.S. Strategic Command, which oversees the military's computer grid, told Congress earlier this year. "Our freedom to use cyberspace is threatened by the actions of criminals, terrorists and nations alike."

For more on how the military is dealing with cyberattacks:
- see this Sun Journal article

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