The US is not ready for a cyberwar

[Commentary] A recent report by a task force of the Defense Science Board on cyber-conflict makes clear that all is not well in preparing for this new domain of warfare.

What would cyberwar be like? Potentially, “hundreds” of simultaneous, synchronized offensive and defensive cyber operations would be needed, and yet the task force found the U.S. military is not ready. A task force said it “could find no evidence of modeling or experimentation being undertaken to better understand the large-scale cyber war.” In a recommendation that underscores the larger direction of U.S. policy, the task force declared, “time is of the essence in developing a broader offensive cyber capability.” Will there be public sacrifices or costs — say, a regional electric-grid blackout or a stock-exchange crash? Who decides whether to launch an offensive cyberattack? Under what conditions? These are the type of questions that the administration and Congress ought to be talking about with the American people. We ought not wait until a disaster has arrived to address the policy implications of cyberwar.