[LINK] Cyberwarfare

[stephen at melbpc.org.au]

Israeli official sees cyber-alternative to "ugly" war

JERUSALEM | Thu Feb 3, 2011 1:40pm EST 
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/03/us-iran-nuclear-israel-cyber-
idUSTRE71259U20110203 (snip)


JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Cyberwarfare, of the kind waged against Iran last 
year, offers advanced nations an alternative to "ugly" military force 
with its moral costs, a senior Israeli official said on Thursday.

"War is ugly, awfully ugly," Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor told 
diplomats and journalists at a think tank called the Jerusalem Center for 
Public Affairs.

"In modern times, because war is all the time on television ... people 
see this and can't take it. There are limits. There is a (political) 
price you pay."

He added: "Because it is difficult, one looks for other ways."

"One of those other ways is the intelligence community of all the world 
trying to do things that don't look that ugly, don't kill people."

"And all the world that is not on the screen, the cyber world ... becomes 
more important in the conflict between nations." 

"It is a new battleground, if you like, not with guns but with something 
else," he said.

He declined to discuss the mysterious Stuxnet worm found in Iranian 
networks last year, but his remarks underscored Israelis' doubts about 
delivering on veiled threats to use open force against their arch-foe's 
nuclear program.

Meridor, who oversees Israel's spy services and nuclear affairs, said 
Israel had learned from news coverage and the ensuing public censure of 
its conflicts with often outgunned enemies.

Over the past two years Israeli officials have quietly unveiled cyber war 
capabilities that they say are a core pillar of defense strategy.

--

Cheers,
Stephen