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U.S. Cyber Command Nominee Discusses Policies
Doug Caverly
Staff Writer
2010-04-15
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While it's difficult to draw too many conclusions from it - a number of important questions are only answered in a classified supplement, and laws on the subject are still being established - a new document quoting an Army general has shed some light on how the U.S. military views the issue of cyber warfare.
 | | U.S. Cyber Command Nominee Discusses Policies |  |
Lt. Gen. Keith Alexander is certainly in a good position to provide clues, given that he's been nominated to head the U.S. Cyber Command. And it's questions posed by members of the Senate Armed Services Committee that he was responding to in a document made available by the Washington Post, meaning these answers are very much on the record.
So on to the interesting quotes. One response Alexander gave made it sound as if the military is willing to retaliate against online threats even if their source can't be identified. He wrote, "[I]nternational law requires that our use of force in self-defense be proportional and discriminate. Neither proportionality nor discrimination requires that we know who is responsible before we take defensive action."
That may either be comforting if you don't want the military to sit on its hands during months-long investigations, or worrisome you're concerned about hackers starting WWIII.
Another answer implied that the U.S. won't ever try to knock entire countries offline, though. Alexander stated, "It is difficult for me to conceive of an instance where it would be appropriate to attack a bank or a financial institution, unless perhaps it was being used solely to support enemy military operations."
Unfortunately, comments concerning the U.S. Cyber Command's mission, priorities, and capabilities, along with the likelihood of offensive operations, remain classified.
Alexander's confirmation hearing is taking place today, at any rate, so it shouldn't be long before we find out whether he will actually head the organization.
About the Author:
Doug is a staff writer for SecurityProNews, InternetFinancialNews, SearchNewz, and WebProNews.
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