Is the U.S. Finally Getting Serious About Cyberwar ?

Further on the laptops and cybersecurity discussed in my last post, an article in the National Journal gives a lengthy and detailed portrait of the state of U.S. thinking on cyberwar, and in particular the threat from China. Some of the allegations in the story (mainly that the some poeple in the U.S. defense establishment think that a Chinese hacker was responsible for two major power blackouts in the U.S. in recent years), are very thinly sourced and not too convincing. The magazine is aimed at Washington insiders and relies largely on those sort of people for its information, a very dangerous method which often leaves you like a frog looking out of a well (井底之蛙) as the Chinese say. The overall thrust of the article however–that Washington is finally getting serious about the issue (the Airforce is in the process of setting up a whole new division or “command” it’s tenth, which is to dedicated to cyberspace)–is timely and interesting.