US takes hard-line on potential hackers
By David Howells
01/06/2011
The Pentagon has gone on record to say that it will be treating cyber-crime against its IT infrastructure as "acts of war".
The announced change of legislation has drawn attention to the potential damage cyber crime could entail and encouraged many to look at systems management software for their own home or business.
This new legislation - which is not set to be unveiled until next month but has been leaked to the Wall Street Journal - would mean that any cyber attack in future could be countered with economic sanctions, cyber-retaliation or even a military strike. However, it is suggested that these retaliations would only take place following a serious attack on key government computer systems.
Pentagon spokesman Colonel Dave Lapan told BBC News of the options they would consider if such an act were to take place. "A response to a cyber-incident or attack on the US would not necessarily be a cyber-response," he said.
"All appropriate options would be on the table."
A military spokesperson, however, explained the development slightly more prosaically, telling the Daily Mail, "If you shut down our power grid, maybe we will put a missile down one of your smokestacks."
The UK government has yet to announce whether it will follow in the footsteps of the US and put in place a similar system for retaliation in the case of cyber-attacks.
