Clarke?s comments contribute nothing to the current dialogue regarding information security threats and vulnerabilities. The potential for cyber attack exists within any nation that depends on information technology, either as an infrastructure, or to control other critical infrastructures. While the US and Europe are certainly vulnerable to cyber attack, other nations such as Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, China, Russia and India are also likely targets. China?s capabilities in this area remain a concern as their research and doctrine development on information warfare and critical infrastructure attack potentially surpasses the level of attention the topic has received in the US, often regarded as the thought leader on these issues. In addition, Clarke?s notion that attribution is difficult in cyberspace correctly implies that we may never know the true source of a cyber attack, and this diminishes, if not eliminates, our ability to deter and respond to attacks.

Despite Clarke?s warning that we should avoid a failure of imagination regarding cyber attacks, it is highly unlikely that the issue will receive appropriate attention until a significant infrastructure attack is experienced. The US government has had difficulty simply staffing its most senior cybersecurity position, a trend that was only exacerbated with the departure of Amit Yoran from his position as Director of the National Cyber Security Division of the Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection office at the Department of Homeland Security several weeks ago. Therefore, it seems that a wide-scale infrastructure failure (either intentional or accidental) will be the essential catalyst in focusing real attention to this threat and establishing momentum for national information security and critical infrastructure protection initiatives.

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