U.S. military forces increasingly vulnerable to new cyber threats

ARLINGTON, Va., Dec. 30 (UPI) -- Like civilian users, the U.S. armed forces have eagerly embraced the promise of Internet Protocol communications, identifying myriad ways in which the new technology might enhance the survivability and effectiveness of war fighters.

But as the joint force becomes increasingly net-centric, it also becomes more vulnerable to cyber threats.

Cyber operatives have repeatedly penetrated Pentagon networks and other national-security sites such as the Energy Department's nuclear-weapons laboratories. Although U.S. military and intelligence networks are supposed to be isolated from the Internet, it only takes one intrusion via a cell phone or laptop computer for whole organizations to be penetrated, and such attacks can be executed anonymously by predators on the other side of the world.

The greatest military danger raised by cyber threats is that the armed forces of the United States and the U.S. intelligence agencies will lose what they call "information dominance," the capacity to assure friendly information flows while impeding those of adversaries.

That is a real possibility, because the battle for military supremacy now is conducted using tools available to many potential adversaries, and U.S. military organizations may lack the agility to keep up with such a diverse and fluid threat.

It is hard to deter attacks when their point of origin cannot be identified, and harder still to know how compromised key networks may be until the moment when they are most needed. What can be said with certainty, though, is that virtually all of the enemies of the United States grasp how important digital networks are to the effectiveness of the joint force.

The Information Age has brought about a massive transformation of the U.S. domestic economy. Workers are more productive, borders are more open, relationships are more fluid, and the pace of business activity is much faster.

The foundation for most of these changes is a global infrastructure of information networks that has obliterated geographical, organizational and technological barriers to efficiency. Every major U.S. industry has assimilated Internet Protocol communications into its operating procedures as a way of saving money and staying competitive. As a result, the entire economy is now so dependent on digital links that it could not function without them.

Because this transformation has unfolded over two decades in many different ways, most U.S. citizens do not grasp just how dependent they are on information systems.

For example, if the U.S. domestic information infrastructure were severely compromised, telecommunications and electricity grids across the nation would cease operating, food supplies would become depleted, financial transactions could not be executed, and air traffic control would be nearly impossible.

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(Next: How potentially hostile nations are adopting information warfare as a national strategy that could be applied against the United States.)

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(Loren B. Thompson is chief executive officer of the Lexington Institute, an Arlington, Va.-based think tank that supports democracy and the free market.)

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(United Press International's "Outside View" commentaries are written by outside contributors who specialize in a variety of important issues. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of United Press International. In the interests of creating an open forum, original submissions are invited.)