Cyber Attack as Just Cause

In a recent Pentagon report, the United States declares it reserves the right to retaliate with military force against a cyber attack and is working to sharpen its ability to track down the source of any breach.

Read the report here.

You Hack, We Shoot

"Lawmakers on Capitol Hill have delivered a stark warning to the Pentagon: its failure to address key questions surrounding how the United States military would respond to a cyberattack – and what precisely constitutes an act of war in cyberspace, for that matter – remains a “significant gap” in US national security policy."

Read the article here.

Cyber Combat: Act of War

If you shut down our power grid, maybe we will put a missile down one of your smokestacks...

Read the WSJ article here.

POTUS' Role in Cyber Defense

If the Internet is considered a vital U.S. asset, what powers does the president have in the event of a potentially catastrophic cyberattack?

Read the article here.

How Painful is the Cutting Edge?

Two explorations on the military's efforts to keep up with itself:

First, the executive summary of the 2010 McCain Conference, "New Warriors and New Weapons: The Ethical Ramifications of Emerging Military Technologies." The summary provides ethical concerns in the areas of unmanned systems, soldier enhancements, nonlethal weapons and cyberwarfare. Link here (scroll past the info/registration for this year's conference).

Second, Tim Kane's article in The Atlantic, "Why Our Best Officers Are Leaving." Get past the hyperbolic title and you'll find a recurring argument: "the military personnel system—every aspect of it—is nearly blind to merit." Link here.