CIA Chief Leon Panetta: Cyberattack Could Be 'Next Pearl Harbor'

Appearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee for a confirmation hearing for his appointment as the secretary of defense, Leon Panetta warned that the U.S. could face cyberwarfare in battles to come.

“The next Pearl Harbor we confront could very well be a cyber attack that cripples our power systems, our grid, our security systems, our financial systems, our governmental systems,” Panetta said.

Though he talked on subjects ranging from Libya to withdrawing troops from Afghanistan to the war on terrorism, Panetta highlighted his concerns regarding the U.S.'s preparedness for cyberattacks.

“This is a real possibility in today’s world,” he said. “As a result, I think we have to aggressively be able to counter that. It is going to take both defensive measures as well as aggressive measures to deal with it.”

The Obama administration recently unveiled its proposal for global cybersecurity. Statements from the Pentagon have also indicated that the government will consider cyberattacks originating from foreign countries to be equivalent to acts of war meriting military response.

Comments

[Don Carroll]

12:22 AM on 06/17/2011

If a "cyber event" happens it most likely will come from our own Government via something developed by Tesla technology for example. This reference to “Pearl Harbor”, you know, the one that “Rosenfelt” set up to justify an eventual entry into war on Germany, by way of setting up Japan behind the curtain of non-diplomacy, that is by a direct U.S. threat’ behind the scenes. The American people knew nothing about these provocations.

So Panetta is most likely is telling us that even though that we have invaded and destroyed countries, without the rule that the U.S. Constitution prohibits non- declared war without formal Declarations of War. In other words we violate our Constitutional Law often and illegally.
So be ready for in-house cyber attacks, that is “Made In USA”.

[logicdog]

05:30 PM on 06/18/2011

Yeesh.

I realize that when a politician speaks, it's fun to engage in "reading between the lines", but we all would do well to remember that the space between the lines is actually blank. It gets filled with what is between Our ears, not theirs. . .

[Don Carroll]

01:39 AM on 06/19/2011

Logicdog,

Don't worry about anything. You know why? Everything will go really well now because LARRY FLYNT is considering public office?! This is a complete absurdity right out of the "out house" of "White House". Make sure we turn out the lights and close the door on our way out. Diogenes has now seen and heard it all. Turn the lantern off, I see better in the dark probably because there is nothing to see. Good Night.

[logicdog]

11:05 PM on 06/16/2011

A great many commenters seem fixed on the notion that comparing a "hack attack" to the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor is a poor analogy. Perhaps. But I don't think that's the point, is it? What if a cyber-attack took down our power grid; or all aviation traffic controls; or even just media broadcast signals. That could do a substantial amount of economic damage all by itself, and would very likely cause loss of life as well.

The government may or may not have it's systems prepared to repel such an organized attack, but I can assure you that the private sector doesn't. We're vulnerable on many levels.

[Molla Gonzalo]

06:30 PM on 06/16/2011

more info http://www.federaciongalactica.blogspot.com/

[ABM777]

11:45 AM on 06/16/2011

No doubt cyber-attacks it's a clear and present danger to this nation, from disrupting essential systems to the theft of information. We are engaged in attacks and so are other countries not just individuals who happen to live in a particular country, although often it happens to be China, hummmm!, but sponsored by government agencies. We've done it in Iran to disrupt their nuclear program and there is ample reason to believe that we are engaged against other countries. And there's is no doubt that we are being attacked. This war is here to stay for a very long time, the "Clean War". What's interesting is that this war can be launched from anywhere, at anytime and by anyone with know-how. As far as considering a cyber-attack as "an Act of War" good luck tracing it back to a sponsor-nation. It's a similar dilemma the present world faces with individual or group terrorism. Our laws need to be rewritten to account for a changing world. "Spionage" and "Treason" come to mind when we seek to punish the perpetrators. Thus, it is clear that those who seek to harm or weaken the U.S. have found a perfect weapon of choice and it is equally clear the the U.S. and other major nations will be increasing their "cyber war" budget exponentially. Yeah, life is a beach and then you surf.

[Counterglow]

10:20 AM on 06/16/2011

It would be difficult to take control of the Internet by force. Playing on the fears of people who don't know the difference between a motherboard and a diving board so they'll vote to let it happen...well, that's an old game. And it always seems to work.

[BoudiccaBlanc]

09:45 AM on 06/16/2011

Sure it could happen.......

It happened physically on 9-11, Dec. 7, 1941 and it almost happened on March 8, 1968 with the Soviet submarine K-129.

Am I going to cave in and allow the government or individuals to scare me into surrendering my God-given rights (Natural-law) as a human being and as an American citizen?

No !!!!

[zachmill]

08:26 PM on 06/16/2011

While I do agree linking Pearl Harbor to cyberattacks is bit of a stretch, Panetta may have a cause to be legitimately concerned. Why else would the Obama administration see the need for global cybersecurity. I believe it is better to be safe than sorry.

You pose a valid point of not wanting to give up “God-given rights” to the government. They have proven that their involvement can sometimes hurt our economy. There are times when buyers and sellers do not always agree on the market price of a particular resource. Government imposed price controls – price ceilings and price floors, are sometimes implemented. Price ceiling is the legally maximum price a seller can charge for their product. Rent control is an example of price ceiling. In some cases, this may seem like a good idea; however, if the price continues to fall significantly below equilibrium, the result is shortage, decrease of rentals, and other problems.

Another price control by the government is price floor. Minimum wage is a statute which requires companies to pay laborers no less than a specified hourly rate. As the rate increase, the demand for employers seeking low-skilled workers will decrease. Our market economy is one which employers will seek substitutes, such as machinery or other economizing behavior. The result is many low-skilled workers being unemployed as the wages go above equilibrium. Another effect would be employers losing their businesses, due to the increased rate.

[Dino MA]

08:35 AM on 06/16/2011

The scariest thing about the growing number of cyber attacks is certain countries like China hold hacking contests for young children. Any child who shows an aptitude for hacking is enrolled into special schooling to further their knowledge. From age 12, they are trained in hacking, virus creation and cyber security. As a result, the number of harmful hacks has increased across the globe and the attacks themselves are becoming more sophisticated and harder to detect.

We have no such program or plan to train network security professionals. American kids would rather work on becoming the next superstar athlete or reality TV star. We cannot fight with “1’s” and “0’s”, so that is why we are forced to make threats of force.

[CoIncidence333]

08:32 AM on 06/16/2011

Does anyone still say that LOLZSEC is not an inside job?
What better way to get an agenda across then to show its weaknesses...

[SigonellaPC3]

09:37 AM on 06/16/2011

Thank you.

[Vlado Svetliak]

08:29 AM on 06/16/2011

Another GOP scare tactic Hey people there is Buggy Man up there. Well this is simple answer why to use it if you don't have security. 30 years ago noone was worry about that and World was turning same like today. CIA did function and we where not worry about that. Politician never stop more power and more power and les freedom for you and me.There is lot of wieners up there trust me.

[elzipster54]

07:29 AM on 06/16/2011

You guys are so smart....like how you advised Kennedy before the "Bay of Pigs"

[donbrown]

05:51 AM on 06/16/2011

Hopefully they take down Citibank, Goldman Sachs, and Chase first.

[Foday]

06:21 AM on 06/16/2011

They already started by hacked those three and got over 400K information on individual accounts. Maybe the next one coming will be a big one

[tksensei]

07:29 AM on 06/16/2011

Be careful what you wish for. You might find it hurts more than you thought when you cut off your nose to spite your face.

[OneFish]

04:37 AM on 06/16/2011

Be scared when I tell you to be scared.
The solution allay your fears is gonna cost you.

[MRLeavey]

12:45 AM on 06/16/2011

These guys better pick their battles wisely. The CIA doesn't strike me as an intelligent target.

Unless of course they can get away with it, which is scary to think about.

[Freedom Lives]

12:24 AM on 06/16/2011

As expected-

when I read the Leftist posts below-

they ridicule Panetta's analogy.

Perhaps the recent study comparing Liberals to Conservative's is accurate.

Leftist's cannot perceive or conceive of danger due to finite cranial resources.

It is an innate and intrinsic limitation.

[Rational Thought Plz]

12:37 AM on 06/16/2011

Perhaps you do not understand the difference between imminent danger ( IE Bombs dropping you, people intentionally trying to kill you) versus the loss of what are, essentially, luxuries. People got by for thousands of years without TV or the internet or even electricity and internal combustion.

While I hope to never see the day where we lose any of these things, I would much rather see that day then one where bombs are dropping on my head. I believe your cranial resources have reached full capacity.

[Roxanna]

12:50 AM on 06/16/2011

It is simple Power of Fear Sells... and it sell lots and lots and lots of defense contracts
while country continues to slide backwards

[Freedom Lives]

01:09 AM on 06/16/2011

You assume it is power of fear which sells lots of defense contracts?

What if the threats are real?

And not just conjured up out of illusionary fear?

[Erick Diaz]

12:20 AM on 06/16/2011

lol, Pearl Harbor? Seriously, that's being a little drastic, gimme a break...

[Herkybird]

01:43 AM on 06/16/2011

Really dude? Let's say it is January 2012 and half the country is below zero. Our power grid is hacked. That is not drastic? If a tree branch can bring down half of the east coast then a hacker could bring down half the country. Hell even a geomagnetic storm can cause power failures. Our power grid is so vulnerable it is pathetic. Without it NOTHING happens

[Erick Diaz]

02:16 AM on 06/16/2011

My point is hackers aren't out to hurt the people living here, just the governments and corporations running it, so as I said, calling it Pearl Harbor is a little drastic, Hackers aren't trying to bomb us and fly planes straight into us, so yes, really... When they say a group of armed hackers are going around blowing people up on the street, and smashing people with their computers, then I'll put them on the same level as what Pearl Harbor was, even then it's a stretch and really not the same because they aren't foreigners invading our country, they are more like a bunch of people that are fed up with the lies we've been spoon feed our entire lives. So I wouldn't worry so much about our power grid being hacked because the hackers need power to use their computers... boom

[Keith Jigleeottee]

03:35 AM on 06/16/2011

Dude all we have to do is unplug the internet and everything will be fine...