Gen. Michael Hayden, former National Security Agency Director has seen the vague facts of cyber war.
On July 29th, at the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas, Hayden discussed those aspects of cyber warfare. He clearly mentioned some important aspects as well as what exactly Cyber War actually is.
During the Obama administration, the issue of Cyber war and how exactly it should be handled was an open topic of discussion. It declared cyber security a National security priority in 2009. But as reports of targeted attacks against smart grids and the disclosure of documents about the war in Afghanistan on WikiLeaks show, the line between cyber-espionage, attacks and other activities can sometimes be difficult to understand.
According to Hayden, there should be a clear distinction between activities that disrupt and create problems in networking and the ones that are used for spying.
In June, NSA Director Gen. Keith Alexander, who also heads up the U.S. Cyber Command, spoke about the need for the United States to have the proper framework in place to guide it response to cyber attacks
Alexander said that what are the standing rules of engagement that they have? Do those comport with the laws, the responsibilities that we have? Can we clearly articulate those so that people know and expect what will happen? And I think we have to look at it in two different venues, what we’re doing here in peacetime and what we need to do in wartime to support those units that are in combat.”
In his Black Hat keynote, Hayden said for the military there have traditionally been four domains: ground, air, water and space. Cyber-space constitutes a fifth domain—one in which the advantage has been given to attackers, and there is almost nothing inherent in the domain that really plays to the defence.
Comparing the cyber-world to the “north German plain” as lacking natural barriers, Hayden said he believes the security community over time will fill in the metaphorical rivers and hills necessary to provide defences for the cyber-landscape.
Gen. Michael Hayden, former National Security Agency Director has seen the vague facts of cyber war.
On July 29th, at the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas, Hayden discussed those aspects of cyber warfare. He clearly mentioned some important aspects as well as what exactly Cyber War actually is.
During the Obama administration, the issue of Cyber war and how exactly it should be handled was an open topic of discussion. It declared cyber security a National security priority in 2009. But as reports of targeted attacks against smart grids and the disclosure of documents about the war in Afghanistan on WikiLeaks show, the line between cyber-espionage, attacks and other activities can sometimes be difficult to understand
According to Hayden, there should be a clear distinction between activities that disrupt and create problems in networking and the ones that are used for spying.
In June, NSA Director Gen. Keith Alexander, who also heads up the U.S. Cyber Command, spoke about the need for the United States to have the proper framework in place to guide it response to cyber attacks
Alexander said that what are the standing rules of engagement that they have? Do those comport with the laws, the responsibilities that we have? Can we clearly articulate those so that people know and expect what will happen? And I think we have to look at it in two different venues, what we’re doing here in peacetime and what we need to do in wartime to support those units that are in combat.”
In his Black Hat keynote, Hayden said for the military there have traditionally been four domains: ground, air, water and space. Cyber-space constitutes a fifth domain—one in which the advantage has been given to attackers, and there is almost nothing inherent in the domain that really plays to the defence.
Comparing the cyber-world to the “north German plain” as lacking natural barriers, Hayden said he believes the security community over time will fill in the metaphorical rivers and hills necessary to provide defences for the cyber-landscape.
Describing Chinese cyber-espionage as being “magnificent in its breadth,” Hayden said the country should focus on strengthening its defences.
With a new sound of urgency in the voice of Hayden, the measures need to be taken as fast as possible, in order to make cyber world free from such anti social elements.