A Pentagon document on the US cyber war doctrine will be put on President Barack Obama’s table in the next few weeks. Part of the US military doctrine, the cyber warfare doctrine stipulates launching pre-emptive cyber-attacks against potential enemies.
The doctrine will help the US respond to global cyber security threats and challenges. In fact, Washington reserves the right to carry out cover cyber operations all across the world. It took Pentagon experts two years to map out the doctrine, according to which the US President is authorized to give orders on launching pre-emptive cyber-attacks on any objects on the Internet, which pose a danger to the US’ national security. A cyber-attack means the implantation of multiple pieces of malicious software on the Internet, explains Moscow-based computer expert Ilya Sachkov. This creates a dangerous precedent for international law, he warns. "Such things should be regulated by the UN, Sachkov says, referring to a possible cyber war. A decision on punishing the aggressor should be made by the international community rather than a separate country, something that will comply with a spate of relevant international treaties adopted after World War II." A top-secret document, the cyber warfare doctrine was specifically hammered out by Deputy National Security Advisor for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism John O. Brennan, who will soon become the new CIA director. Earlier, it was Brennan who mapped out rules on using US drones to destroy terrorists. According to The New York Times, the cyber warfare doctrine contains plenty of norms related to using US drones. US experts say that a possible enemy’s financial sector, infrastructure and economy may be hard hit by a US cyber-attack, which can be likened to a nuclear strike in terms of consequences. This is why it is the US President who is authorized to issue an order on staging a cyber-attack. Such an order was reportedly issued by Obama during a secret operation against Iran’s uranium-enrichment facilities in 2010. According to US media, the facilities’ software was seriously damaged by a US cyber-attack at the time. The US Cyber Command led by former National Security Agency chief General Keith B. Alexander was formed in the Pentagon in February 2011. According to the new doctrine, the US Cyber Command is responsible for defining the US’ cyber foes and objects of cyber-attacks. Source: Voice of Russia
