Cyberwarfare

Cyberwarfare refers to politically motivated hacking to conduct sabotage and espionage. It is a form of information warfare sometimes seen as analogous to conventional warfare although this analogy is controversial for both its accuracy and its political motivation.

Cyberwarfare has been defined as actions by a nation-state to penetrate another nation's computers or networks for the purposes of causing damage or disruption. The Economist describes cyberwarfare as the fifth domain of warfare, and William J. Lynn, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense, states that as a doctrinal matter, the Pentagon has formally recognized cyberspace as a new domain in warfare which has become just as critical to military operations as land, sea, air, and space.

In 2009, President Barack Obama declared America's digital infrastructure to be a strategic national asset, and in May 2010 the Pentagon set up its new U.S. Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM), headed by General Keith B. Alexander, director of the National Security Agency (NSA), to defend American military networks and attack other countries' systems. The United Kingdom has also set up a cyber-security and operations centre based in Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), the British equivalent of the NSA. In the U.S. however, Cyber Command is only set up to protect the military, whereas the government and corporate infrastructures are primarily the responsibility respectively of the Department of Homeland Security and private companies. Cyber warfare is the least common type of warfare and has not been used effectively to date.