US to attack other nations' computer network

NEW YORK: The Pentagon is under pressure to go on offensive in cyberspace by developing the technique to attack other nations' computer system rather than defending America's electronic security, a media report said on Monday.
    
'Exploiting' computer networks to gather intelligence is currently the most important use of cyber-power. Clearly, the exploitation activities have been preeminent," a senior Pentagon official said.
    
Under the most sweeping proposals, military experts would acquire the know-how to commandeer the unmanned aerial drones of adversaries, disable enemy warplanes in mid-flight and cut off electricity at precise moments to strategic locations, such as military installations, while sparing humanitarian facilities, such as hospitals, the Los Angeles Times said in its report.
    
An expansion of offensive capabilities in cyberspace would bring vital change in the military, the paper said, adding that for years, US officials have been reluctant to militarise what is widely seen as a medium for commerce and communication -- much like space.
    
But a new National Military Strategy for Cyberspace Operations, declassified earlier this year, fuelled the debate and gave Pentagon a green signal to push for expanded capabilities, the report said.
    
The months-long debate took on added urgency after the electronic attacks that coincided with the Russian military's early August push into Georgia and reflected a newfound uncertainty over the state of global cyber-warfare capabilities, the report said.
    
Though the officials have not concluded whether the electronic network attacks in Georgia were coordinated by Moscow or were the work of freelance hackers or paramilitary groups. Still, the use of cyberspace by Russia and other countries is drawing intense scrutiny by the Pentagon, it added.

"As we go forward in time, cyber is going to be a very important part of our war-fighting tactics, techniques and procedures," Michael W Wynne, a former Air Force secretary, was quoted as saying.
    
Wynne, under whom the Air Force established a provisional Cyber Command last year and made operating in the cyber domain part of its mission statement, had clashed with superiors over the Air Force approach to cyberspace and other issues and was fired after breakdowns in US nuclear weapons security procedures, the paper said.
    
If the military is allowed to develop more advanced cyber-warfare methods, the US would be able to routinely launch airstrike at a target and simultaneously use an electronic attack to disable defences or spread disinformation, said Wynne.
    
"It isn't just about protecting your networks," Wynne told the paper. "It is about having a soldier with an invasive tool he can fire at an antenna, and put some information into it, and from there do some damage."
    
Both the Army and Navy have long-standing operations but primarily focus on intelligence gathering. The Army, in particular, has used a variety of electronic networks to rather intelligence on insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan.
    
The most advanced expertise on cyberspace is held by the National Security Agency, the Defence department intelligence wing that monitors foreign phone calls, e-mails and other communication.
    
Several senior Pentagon officials would discuss the Defence Department's cyberspace work only if their names were withheld because of sensitive intelligence issues. But officials involved in the cyberspace debate are sparring over not only what to do but who within the military should do it.     

The military officials declined to specify every cyberspace activity they might want to develop, they however, emphasised that all such efforts would be governed by the laws of war and international treaties, the Times said.