U.S. Cyber-Security Czar: Don't Use the Term 'Cyber-War' Lightly

U.S. security officials are asking that the rhetoric surrounding the potential for "cyber-war" be tempered in favor of a rational discussion on how to distinguish an actual cyber-war between nations from cyber-attacks that use war-like tactics. It's a blurry line, but White House cyber-security czar Howard Schmidt, who spoke at the RSA computer security conference in San Fransisco, said using the term "cyber-war" to describe attacks like the Stuxnet worm and last year's Chinese Google hacks only fuels unwarranted fear and hysteria. "Cyber-war is a terrible metaphor," he said. "Don't make it something it's not." But doesn't Schmidt know that's what politicians, talking heads and bloggers do best?

U.S. Cyber-Security Czar: Don't Use the Term 'Cyber-War' Lightly originally appeared on Switched on Wed, 16 Feb 2011 13:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.switched.com/2011/02/16/howard-schmidt-dont-use-cyberwar-term-lightly/

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