If U.S. launches cyberattack, it could change nature of war
Imagine Saddam Hussein sitting in one of his palaces, tapping on his laptop, maybe shopping at Uranium Online. Which actually exists, by the way. Tag line: ”The nuclear fuel e-commerce solution.” All of a sudden, Saddam’s computer explodes with e-mail. It’s all spam, made in America — thousands of offers. Consolidate your debt. Earn money working at home. Enlarge your breasts. It would be like Internet carpet bombing. He’d surrender within days. In reality, the U.S. military is developing cyberwarfare weapons. Details of the program are top secret. OK, it probably doesn’t involve unleashing spammers on Iraq, but you never know. Whatever the plan, the concept of cyberwar brings up a whole boatload of questions. No nation has ever used Internet technology to launch a military cyberassault. Cyberattacks would be one of those technological firsts that changes the nature of war, historians say. Full Story