Cyber warning - Rutland Herald

During World War II, a popular American radio personality customarily began his evening newcast with these words: Ah, theres good news tonight. It became Gabriel Heatters signature and he intended it to boost morale during very trying times in our nations history.

We could use a dose of Gabriel Heatter today when all the news seems to be bad. Turkey is understandably angry at the United Nations for not doing more to help solve the dreadful problems in volatile next-door Syria; the people of Greece and Spain are taking to the streets to protest austerity measures their governments are required to impose if they are to alleviate their economic miseries; and the Taliban has declared it will try again to kill a 14-year-old Pakistani girl who spoke out in favor of education for women.

And yesterday The New York Times somewhat surprisingly called for the United States to end the war in Afghanistan immediately, arguing that theres no point to President Obamas promise to remain engaged there until 2014, especially if the principal objective is to protect the hopelessly corrupt government in Kabul.

But perhaps the weeks most worrisome development came last Thursday in a speech by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta in which he warned of the dangers of a cyber-attack of crippling proportions. He went so far as to say there is the possibility of such an attack on the scale of Pearl Harbor.

He said American intelligence officials are increasingly certain although they have no proof that Iran was responsible for a serious wave of network attacks that crippled computers of the Saudi Arabian oil industry and even breached some financial institutions here in the United States.

In the wake of Panettas speech, officials in Washington described a war of attacks and counterattacks already under way between the United States and Iran in cyberspace. Such attacks are not visible to the naked eye. Theyre not like aircraft and artillery and assault troops on the ground. The public can be blissfully ignorant of their existence and the threat they represent.

Last year, these officials say, Irans military created what they call a cybercorps that appeared to be at least partly that nations response to American and Israeli cyber-attacks on its nuclear enrichment plant, but they concede they have no hard evidence that the attacks on Saudi Arabian oil companies and banks in the United States were authorized by the Iranian government.

So far, the attacks have done only modest damage and officials acknowledge that Irans capabilities are considerably less than those of both China and Russia, two countries that intelligence officials believe are the sources of the greatest number of cyber probes, thefts of intellectual property and attacks on American companies and government agencies.

Potential aggressors should be aware that the United States has the capacity to locate them and hold them accountable for actions that harm America or its interests, Panetta declared.

Its not something where people are throwing down the gauntlet, but I think Panetta comes pretty close to sending a clear warning (to Iran): We know who it was, maybe you want to think twice before you do it again, James Lewis, an expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies said. I think the Iranians will put two and two together and realize hes sending them a message.

Modern technology has brought nearly all of us tremendous advantages, but in the hands of those who would harm us, those very advantages can be cruelly neutralized. And theres no good news in that grim reality.