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![1105 Media [justice]](/images/ds1_pntmlogo.gif "1105 Media [justice]") |
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home > September 10, 2007 issue > article
A look down the road ahead
By John Stein Monroe
Cyber warfare has been part of the science fiction landscape for years, but as you will see in reading this month’s issue, it remains something of an undiscovered country in real life.
Defense Department officials say that a cyberwar — in which opposing forces attack each others’ networks and servers rather than their physical assets — is a foregone conclusion. As widely reported in recent years, U.S. networks have already come under attack from forces apparently originating in China. And earlier this year, Estonian networks apparently were brought down by Russian hackers.
The operative word in both cases is apparently. Cyberwarfare is filled with unknowns, not the least of which is the identity of the assailant. Our cover story, by Peter Buxbaum, explores this and other variables that military leaders must consider as they set up operations in cyberspace.
While Pentagon officials wrestle with those conceptual issues, some of the best technical minds in the country are doing pioneering work in the fields of defensive and offensive cyber operations. Brian Robinson explains one promising area of research: the concept of cybercrafts, which involve software agents that can bolster network defenses or serve as scouts when mounting an attack.
On more familiar ground, John Moore provides an update on developments in security information and event management software, which is designed to detect and defend against cyberattacks. The technology is promising, but as often happens with new ventures, experts have encountered unanticipated obstacles.
This issue is a healthy reminder that, even after all these years, much of the cyberdomain remains shadowy, unexplored territory.
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