Is this the year everybody gets hacked?

[Commentary] What was once just an annoyance has turned into something much more serious. Not only have some of the biggest names in Silicon Valley — Apple, Facebook and Twitter — reported being hacked by third-parties this year, it now appears that almost all of Washington has been hacked at one time or another by Chinese cyberspies. And, most discouragingly, these do not appear to be isolated, one-time hacks - according to the latest National Intelligence Estimate, these intrusions are part of a concerted, strategic effort by the Chinese to hack into our nation’s leading corporations, think tanks, newspapers and government agencies. So, let’s call a spade a spade. We’re very close to being pulled into the world’s first cyber-war and, right now, the Chinese appear to have the upper hand. If this were the nuclear age, we’d probably be on DEFCON 3 by now, ready to scramble our jets anywhere in the world within 15 minutes to counter the threat. Unfortunately, it's a bit more difficult to discern exactly what comprises a cyber-attack from what comprises a nuclear attack. When an addled dictator in North Korea pushes the nuclear button, the world knows. But what about a cyber-attack, which takes place in the realm of digital 1’s and 0’s, hidden behind your computer screen? Not only is it extraordinarily difficult to prove that a cyber-attack has taken place, it’s also extraordinarily difficult to ascertain who, exactly, has been behind the attack.