Morning Bell: Time for America to Get Cyber-Serious

Ericka Andersen / June 06, 2011

In the 1995 movie The Net, Sandra Bullock fights computer hackers attempting to cyber-sabotage her life. The hackers successfully change her identity, manipulate U.S. markets, and access the private personal data of U.S. officials. While the clunky looking computers, cell phones, and storyline in the movie are joked about today, cyber terrorism is a real—and much bigger—threat 16 years later.

Protecting America is no longer just a matter of diplomacy and sending armed forces overseas to fight. In the past 10 years, national defense has become a multifaceted intelligence enterprise, requiring additional expertise against nuclear, cyber, and chemical threats from our enemies.

Last week, the Pentagon announced that cyber attacks can now be declared an act of war, proving that these technological arenas are part of a 21st-century battlefield requiring a sharp, pre-emptive strategy and dedicated online soldiers. (more…)