International Cyber Terrorism

architecture", explaining, "You guys made the cyber world look like the north German
plain."
In January 2012, Mike McConnell, the former director of national intelligence at
the National Security Agency under president George W. Bush told the Reuters news
agency that the U.S. has already launched attacks on computer networks in other
countries. McConnell did not name the country that the U.S. attacked but according to
other sources it may have been Iran. In June 2012 the New York Times reported that
president Obama had ordered the cyber attack on Iranian nuclear enrichment facilities.
In August
2010, the
U.S. for the
first time
warned
publicly
about the
Chinese
military's
use of
civilian
computer
experts in
clandestine
cyber
attacks
aimed at
American companies and government agencies. The Pentagon also pointed to an
alleged China-based computer spying network dubbed GhostNet that was revealed in a
research report last year. The Pentagon stated:
The People's Liberation Army is using "information warfare units" to develop viruses to
attack enemy computer systems and networks, and those units include civilian
computer professionals. Commander Bob Mehal, will monitor the PLA's buildup of its
cyberwarfare capabilities and will continue to develop capabilities to counter any
potential threat.
The United States Department of Defense sees the use of computers and the Internet
to conduct warfare in cyberspace as a threat to national security. The United States
Joint Forces Command describes some of its attributes:
Cyberspace technology is emerging as an "instrument of power" in societies, and is
becoming more available to a country's opponents, who may use it to attack, degrade,
and disrupt communications and the flow of information. With low barriers to entry,
coupled with the anonymous nature of activities in cyberspace, the list of potential
adversaries is broad. Furthermore, the globe-spanning range of cyberspace and its
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