Cyberwar...Attack and Defense 2008 Style...

Anyone in the information security space knows Bruce Schneier...always insightful and fun to read and hear.

He signed a copy of one of his great books "Beyond Fear" for me...and wrote:

To Tal:

ohoe
oeyn
kbtj

It took me a bit to catch on :)...knowing Bruce I was prepared for the worst...but it was easier then it first seemed :) (as most things are, huh?)

The reason I bring this up is because of his latest entry on US government developments. Basically, the NSA has been given more authority to sift through digital communications. I don't see anything  new here...maybe only the fact that it is being publicized on the Washington post?!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/25/AR2008012503261.html

What I find interesting though, is the retaliation factor...the article mentions:

"The Pentagon can plan attacks on adversaries' networks if, for example, the NSA determines that a particular server in a foreign country needs to be taken down to disrupt an attack on an information system critical to the U.S. government. That could include responding to an attack against a private-sector network, such as the telecom industry's, sources said"

So thinking out loud here...if an attacker, attacks via a few critical systems, could the counterattack be part of the attack?

:)