U.S. facing asymmetric, cyber warfare

ORLANDO, Fla., March 5 (UPI) -- The head of the U.S. Air Force Space Command said future combat environments are shifting toward asymmetric online battlefields.

Gen. Robert Kehler, commander of Air Force Space Command, said recently that 21st-century warfare is erasing physical boundaries as more threats to security in the United States are coming from cyberattacks, the Air Force reported.

Kehler, discussing the evolving Joint Operating Environment, said distances in warfare are changing. Unmanned aircraft systems, piloted at air force bases in Nevada, are bombing targets in Afghanistan and cyberattacks could come from someone sitting at a computer next door.

"When you come to work, and you log in ... you are entering a war zone, and everyone has to be a defender. We do not have a security forces squadron for cyberspace," Kehler said in a statement.

"Make no mistake about it; the fight is on in cyberspace. The adversary can be down the street or halfway around the world, and you never know. The enemy could be down the street and look like he's halfway around the world."