Cyberwarfare - The Debate

Two security leaders - two quotes - two positions?
1.  “There is no cyberwar,” Quote from Howard Schmidt, White House Cybersecurity Director for President Obama.
Or, 
2.  "The United States is fighting a cyberwar today, and we are losing," Quote from  Michael McConnell, the former Director of the National Security Agency, written in a Washington Post article.




You will read a post by Fortalice intern, Steven Elliott, about Cyberwarfare shortly.

It has been an interesting debate out there about the term, "Cyberwarfare".

Ask anyone in law enforcement or even a small business who has been hacked and they may tell you that they feel they are at war with cybercriminals.

The term cyberwarfare has been used and critiqued by leaders in the security community.

Critics: "Warfare" in the traditional sense implies a level of involvement from Department of Defense.  You cannot label trojans, viruses, and other malware that steals identities or helps criminals commit fraud as "warfare".

Supporters of Warfare:  Typically use the term "Warfare" in a broader sense.  A focus on the larger picture sees fraud as a potential source to fund criminal activities that fund terrorists.  An assault on our critical infrastructure that creates a lack of confidence in the infrastructure is also seen as "warfare".

Whatever your position on the debate, I hope you will enjoy Steven's posts.

As always, we are open to ideas, suggestions, and feedback.