It’s just like blowing up a building, or is it?
Type up some nefarious code, hack into a government system and “boom” you bring down the whole network without even firing a shot, right?
Well that’s not how the Air Force’s cyber warriors see it. To them, dropping a “logic bomb” into a computer network is the same as launching a 2,000-pound JDAM from a B-2 bomber at 20,000 feet — you’ve done the same kind of damage but with different means.
So take cover from incoming.
You can use standard combat terminology in cyber warfare as you can with traditional warfare, said Col. Tony Buntyn, vice commander of Air Force Cyber Command, during a June 3 interview with military bloggers.
“You can find, fix, target, and engage an enemy,” he said. “A target could be a [computer] network … or it could be physical, with a [geographical] location. But we need the capabilities, just like we have in kinetic warfare, to engage targets when necessary.”
Cyber warfare — the use of computers and digital code to penetrate information systems and damage or infiltrate a foreign network — is becoming an increasingly critical capability to the U.S. military. Because of the ease of access to powerful hardware and the ubiquity of hacker software, more countries and non-state actors are getting into the game, Pentagon and government officials say.
Countries like China, Russia and North Korea have quietly entered the cyber-warfare arena, already scoring significant hits against U.S. and other government computer and communications networks.
To computer warriors like Buntyn and his fellow Airmen, sometimes your defense is only as good as your offense.
“It could be either a kinetic or non-kinetic effect you want to achieve. And we need the ability to provide either,” Buntyn said.
But when and how to use either method is based on the kind of conflict you’re in.
“It depends on our target; it depends on our rules of engagement — are we conducting open warfare with an adversary?” Buntyn explained. “If that’s the case, then we don’t really need to be discreet about it. When we drop a JDAM and leave a big smoking hole, that’s not very discreet.”
“If I can [locate] it and I can take it out with a kinetic attack … and it meets the rules of engagement, then that might be the preferred method.”
That works if you’re targeting terrorist nodes and communication relays during an open conflict. But what about malicious network infiltration originating from a country with whom the U.S. is not at war?
“If it’s an [Internet]-based target that’s accessible to us and we can take it out electronically, reliably, then that may be the preferred method,” Buntyn added.
Though China has become “cyber-enemy-number-one” recently, with stories of DoD network hacking attacks and millions spent by the PLA on its computer warfare capabilities, the Air Force isn’t looking too hard over its shoulder at the rising cyber power in the Pacific — despite Pentagon warnings.
“In the past year, numerous computer networks around the world, including those owned by the U.S. Government, were subject to intrusions that appear to have originated within the PRC. These intrusions require many of the skills and capabilities that would also be required for computer network attack,” according to this year’s Pentagon report on Chinese military power. “Although it is unclear if these intrusions were conducted by or with the endorsement of the PLA or other elements of the PRC government, developing capabilities for cyber warfare is consistent with authoritative PLA writings on this subject.”
But to Buntyn, the threat is more diffuse, accessible to all and is proliferating more than on a simple state-to-state basis.
“The entry into this warfighting domain is very cheap. A 12 year old with a laptop can spend a couple hours on the Internet and achieve a pretty good capability,” he said. “It’s not limited to nation states. There are plenty of criminal organizations that are out there just trying to make a buck and they’re using the same offensive tools that a nation-state would use.”
– Christian
Well, not quite…
12 year olds are not the threat, and never will be if you have a decent security plan/monitoring in place for high-value networks.
re China’s efforts, there is much more the fear from industrial espionage than the disruption/hijacking of protected DoD networks, and there are a variety of means they are using beyond cyber attack to do it.
They didn’t get the goods on the W-88 via cyber attack.Nor, on carbon-carbon nose cone design and manufacture (that courtesy of Loral)to improve their ICBM capabilities.
Or, the nuclear legacy codes that will enable China to test new warhead designs via computer simulations.(Thanks to Wen Ho Lee, who walked).
–why go through the back door when the front door is wide open?
China should have greater fear of US cyber attack capabilities. How many copies of Windows and Unix are running in the Chinese military’s domains?
Just as long as the 12-year old doesn’t accidentally start the “Global Thermonuclear War” simulation on the W.O.P.R. computer we should be okay. Dr. Falken may not be around to save us next time.
lol
I fail to see how the title matches the article. I was really expecting something else with a title of “Computer Hack Could Lead to JDAM Strike.”
well said j house…
J is spot on.
The USA has been an empty Costco with the door wide open as far as China is concerned. And at the same time LORAL transferred to China technology to stabilize sattelites in earth orbit and perfect stage separation they were the largest contributor to Bill Clinton’s war chest. We can’t sit here and let Lagranian equations walk out the door, sell them the super computers to run them and not expect to be played for the fool to the End of Days.
When they come for us, you’ll recognize the weapons. We built them.
I know two cases which pre-teen children succeeded to break into Pentagon’s computer, and succeeded to threat airport functions. There are smart brats throughout the world that could do damage. However, they are often just pure amateur that risks more chance getting caught. In that term, China knows the government of US has no way to capture its own professional hackers.
I have been a tron tech since 1971, RTO, My Big Toe, RVN. There is no “hockus-pocus” concerning electronics. If any system is designed, the creators know the intrinsic flaws. Case in point: the old scrambled cable TV systems (all you had to do was re-introduce the horizontal sync after the black burst for which Radio Shack sold millions of the little boxes). Hacking a system does not require knowledge of Java script beyond gaining entry. The hacker must know what machine is in use and its particular machine language. Unfortunately for our military, the Clinton administration allowed transfer of missile guidance technology to the Chicoms in the 90’s. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out the rest…
Hi Nonymous,
Yes I know they are not a threat.
I don’t know anything about those networks
other than ip allocation which is not radar,
infra-red or L2 relevant. Hope they are not
turnkey.
The front doors were open at the defense contractors I have worked at, however access
was denied to many areas without clearance
some of which was chaparoned.
They re-engineer those and like most of Asia
I believe there are no copyright or patent laws.
http://www.openbsd.org/
http://mail2world.com/
I’m also looking at Garden Grove CA location
and and class A 65 allocation appearing to be
associated to a legal firm for a previous mentioned.
Hi.I am a hacker. I can get you a myspace, facebook, aol, yahoo, msn/hotmail,gmail.…etc password. I do charge a fee to get a password. Once I do get it I will show you proof I have it. Are you interested? E-mail me at fordf202006@yahoo.com
A modern search engine of the web is available for everybody– get the link and download– http://newfileengine.com –everything is simple!
12 years can be as much powerful as KEVIN MITNICK