The coming digital war

摘要

Pentagon networks are under constant attack from forces that are stealthy, swift and difficult to trace. But the U.S. military is gearing up to fight back. In the American Civil War, agents from both the Union and Confederate sides routinely climbed telegraph poles and cut enemy lines, then disguised their work so that it was undetectable from the ground. From these humble beginnings the concept of network information warfare was born. By literally "hacking" telegraph wires, saboteurs found a way to turn telecommunications technology, which military commanders relied on to mobilize troops, from an asset to a liability. In the modern American military, digital telecommunication is so integral to command and control of forces and equipment that the disruption of data can do more to disable a fighting force than a thousand bombs. Some of our most advanced systems, such as Predator UAVs, are controlled by operators thousands of miles from the battlefield. A severed connection could turn a weaponized drone into an impotent toy - or worse, a tool for the enemy.