From Bullets to Megabytes

[Commentary] Stuxnet, the computer worm that last year disrupted many of the gas centrifuges central to Iran’s nuclear program, is a powerful weapon in the new age of global information warfare.

A sophisticated half-megabyte of computer code apparently accomplished what a half-decade of United Nations Security Council resolutions could not. This new form of warfare has several implications that are only now becoming apparent, and that will define the shape of what will likely become the next global arms race — albeit one measured in computer code rather than firepower. Stuxnet also raises sticky and perhaps irresolvable legal questions. At present there is no real legal framework for adjudicating international cyberattacks; even if victims could determine who was responsible, their governments have few options outside of diplomatic complaints and, perhaps, retaliation in kind. An international entity that could legislate or enforce an information warfare armistice does not exist, and is not really conceivable. By explicitly authorizing these offensive operations in appropriate, defined circumstances, a new statute would strengthen the president’s power to provide for the common defense in cyberspace. Doing so wouldn't answer all the questions that this new era of warfare presents. But one thing is sure: as bad as this arms race will be, losing it would be even worse. [Falkenrath was deputy homeland security adviser to President George W. Bush]