I work as both a "cyberwarfare" officer in a reserve US military unit, as well as a consultant for a Big Four Securty Services group. What I write is my own opinion, not the official position of the government or military. In my opinion, this author is off the mark.

In my opinion, a cyberattack is NOT illegal under the rules of war. Infrastructure targets (electricity, bridges, telecommunication sites) may be attacked if they have a dual purpose use. That is, if they are used by both the enemy forces for transportation and command and control,as well as civilians they can be deemed dual use. This is why bridges, telecom centers, etc. were hit in the Kosovo War, and the first Persian Gulf War. In fact, these targets are usually the second targets in the air phase, after air defense assets are eliminated, as the Air Force attempts to knock out enemy's "Center of Gravity" and deny the ability to command and control his forces. If you can blow them up under certain circumstances, you certainly can shut them down.

The "Shock and Awe" campaign is not about mass bombing. Rather, it is actually the new doctrine of the Air Force. The US Army's "Information Operations" (PSYOPS, Civil Affairs, Computer Network Defense and Attack, among others) dovetails and is a part of Shock and Awe, as it is designed to get into the enemies decision making loop.

Why have we not conducted a cyberwarfare attack? I believe this is mostly because, as the author said: we are more vulnerable to a cyber attack, and asymmetric warfare allows this response. Also, it would set precedent. In my opinion, a cyber attack would be much better than a physical attack on these targets, as the stated plan is to preserve infrastructure. Systems can be reprogrammed and reloaded more easily. Blown infrastructure cannot.

Incidentally, the Bush administration has put out a policy paper that says it views a cyber attack upon the US a military attack, but it did not publicly lay out what the response would be.

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