Cyberattack threat at Pearl Harbor scale

New York Times : A 12 October front-page article reports on a speech given by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, in which he warned that the US faces “the possibility of a âcyber-Pearl Harbor’ and [is] increasingly vulnerable to foreign computer hackers who could dismantle the nation’s power grid, transportation system, financial networks and government.” According to the Times, Panetta “said he was reacting to increasing aggressiveness and technological advances” by adversaries that officials identified as China, Russia, Iran, and militant groups. Panetta also cited a “wave of cyberattacks on large American financial institutions” and an attack on the state oil company Saudi Aramco. The speech generally avoided the topic of offensive cyberwar but mentioned preemption. The article discusses cybersecurity legislation backed by the Obama administration and notes Republican worries about burdens on corporations.