Could a cyber war turn into a real one for US?

Washington: The United States is warning that a cyber attack - presumably if it is devastating enough - could result in real-world military retaliation.

Easier said than done.

In the wake of a significant new hacking attempt against Lockheed Martin Corp, experts say it could be extremely difficult to know fast enough with any certainty where an attack came from. Sophisticated hackers can mask their tracks and make it look like a cyber strike came from somewhere else.

                                                                

There are also hard questions about the legality of such reprisals and the fact that other responses, like financial sanctions or cyber countermeasures, may be more appropriate than military action, analysts say.

"There are a lot of challenges to retaliating to a cyber attack," said Kristin Lord, author of a new report on US cyber strategy at the Center for a New American Security, a Washington-based think tank.

"It is extremely difficult to establish attribution, to link a specific attack to a specific actor, like a foreign government."

The White House stated plainly in a report last month that Washington would respond to hostile acts in cyberspace "as we would to any other threat to our country" - a position articulated in the past by US officials.

The Pentagon, which is finalizing its own report, due out in June, on the Obama administration's emerging strategy to deal with the cyber threat, acknowledged that possibility on Tuesday.

"A response to a cyber incident or attack on the US would not necessarily be a cyber response ... all appropriate options would be on the table," Colonel Dave Lapan, a Pentagon spokesman, said.

The sophistication of hackers and frequency of the attacks came back into focus after a May 21 attack on Lockheed Martin, the Pentagon's top arms supplier.

Lockheed said the "tenacious" cyber attack on its network was part of a pattern of attacks on it from around the world. The US Defense Department estimates that over 100 foreign intelligence organizations have attempted to break into US networks.

Every year, hackers steal enough data from US government agencies, businesses and universities to fill the US Library of Congress many times over, officials say.

US defence firm Lockheed Martin hit by cyber-attack

US defence firm Lockheed Martin says it has come under a significant cyber-attack, which took place last week.

Few details were available, but Lockheed said its security team had detected the threat quickly and ensured that none of its programmes had been compromised.

The Pentagon said it is working to establish the extent of the breach.

Lockheed makes fighter jets, warships and multi-billion dollar weapons systems sold worldwide.

Lt Col April Cunningham, speaking for the US defence department, said the impact on the Pentagon was "minimal and we don't expect any adverse effect".

Lockheed Martin said in a statement that it detected the attack on 21 May "almost immediately" and took counter-measures.

As a result, the company said, "our systems remain secure; no customer, program or employee personal data has been compromised".

However, it is still working to restore employee access several days after the attack.

Offshore attacks

Lockheed Martin is the world's biggest aerospace company and makes F-16, F-22 and F-35 fighter jets as well as warships.

Four years ago, the firm apparently tightened security after officials revealed hackers had breached Lockheed's high-tech Joint Fighter programme.

Josh Shaul, chief technology officer at New York-based database security company Application Security, said other defence contractors will now be assessing their own measures.

"I guarantee you every major defence contractor is on double alert this weekend, watching what's going on and making sure they're not the next to fall victim."

In Australia, too, the government has warned companies to be extra vigilant of offshore cyber attacks.

The advice comes after the outgoing head of the country's biggest oil and gas company said attacks were coming "from everywhere".

"It comes from eastern Europe; it comes from Russia. Just don't pick on the Chinese; it's everywhere," Don Voelte, chief executive of Woodside Petroleum was quoted as saying.

Australian Attorney-General Robert McClelland singled out resource companies as being targeted.

"There is no doubt that cyber-security threats are becoming worse," he told Reuters.

"Without talking about specific incidents, there have been a number of reports concerning our resource companies."