cyberterrorism news stories on Newser

Pentagon: Cyber Attacks Can Qualify as Acts of War

Mark Russell — Tue, 31 May 2011 07:54:10 CDT

A cyber attack on the United States or its allies can be considered an act of war and result in a military response, says the Pentagon in its first formal document outlining its cyber strategy. The 30-page classified report—unclassified portions of which will be released next month—looks at...

Spencer Pratt Ditches Hills to Fight Cyber Crime

Will McCahill — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 17:30:00 CDT

Spencer Pratt aims to remove both the “reality-TV” and “villain” facets of his character, as he’s planning a break from MTV’s The Hills to focus on fighting cyber crime. Pratt, 26, is studying software engineering, and, inspired by President Obama’s recent pronouncement that online threats are among the biggest challenges...

Pentagon's Cybercommand Raises Privacy Fears

Rob Quinn — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 08:04:16 CDT

Plans to put America's cybersecurity under the control of the Pentagon are raising some thorny privacy and diplomacy issues, the New York Times reports. President Obama has insisted that the military, under the cybercommand being developed, will not be monitoring private sector networks and Internet traffic—but Pentagon officials say...

Pentagon Plans New Command for Online War

Jason Farago — Fri, 29 May 2009 07:56:27 CDT

The Pentagon is pushing ahead with a new military command devoted to cyberspace as the armed forces ramp up abilities to not only defend against computer attacks but launch them as well, the New York Times reports. The new command will work in concert with a civilian organization, which President...

Pentagon to Create 'Digital Warfare Force'

Kevin Spak — Tue, 05 May 2009 08:07:41 CDT

The US military is creating a digital warfare force as part of a complete reorganization of its cyber operations, says NSA director and top cyber warfare commander Keith Alexander. In blunt testimony prepared for the House Armed Services subcommittee today, Alexander says the Pentagon’s current cyber training is woefully inadequate....

Suicide Prompts Uproar Over Cyber-Insults in S. Korea

Wesley Oliver — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 14:18:25 CDT

The suicide of a popular actress is prompting South Korean officials to get tough with “cyber-terrorists,” the Los Angeles Times reports. Choi Jin-sil hanged herself this month after Internet rumors blamed her for the death of a fellow actor. “People who inflict cyber-terrorism must pay the appropriate price,” said one...

Terror Trackers Tackle Jihadis Online

Rob Quinn — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 04:57:54 CDT

Two low-profile private contractors are at the forefront of the fight against cyber-jihadis, Der Speigel reports. From secret US locations, IntelCenter and SITE track footprints that al-Qaeda and other groups leave online. They detect new statements in the maze of terror-linked sites and rapidly transmit them to the world's counter-terror...

Al-Qaeda Plenty Safe, Thriving on Web

Kevin Spak — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 13:01:49 CDT

Americans might think of al-Qaeda as a cave-dwelling group of primitives, but the terror group operates one of the most sophisticated propaganda operations on the web, the Washington Post reports. Al-Qaeda releases documentary-quality videos every 3-4 days through tightly secured channels. “It’s beautifully crafted propaganda,” said one expert. “You’re left...

Renegade Geek to Head Cyber Security

Kevin Spak — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 14:45:05 CDT

Outre tech entrepreneur Rod Beckström will top the White House’s new secretive cyber security initiative, the Wall Street Journal reports, to the surprise of many Washington insiders. Beckström is a Silicon Valley transplant without security experience, but he has developed a cult following in the security and intelligence communities for...