Lawmakers in US turn focus to cyberattacks

The America would use cyber weapons against an adversary's computer networks only after officials on the highest levels of presidency approved the operation due to the risks of collateral damage, says a senior US military official.

The director of intelligence at US Cyber Command, Rear Admiral Samuel Cox, said yesterday that cyberattacks could do significant harm to a country's infrastructure and may never be executed lightly.

He said offensive cyber operations were hard to conduct with precision to circumvent unintended casualties and damage to unrelated systems.

"If you are looking to do precision strike in cyberspace with a completely high degree of confidence that takes enormous amounts of intelligence, planning, great care and intensely carefully crafted cyber tools that will not boomerang against you down the line."

Cox also minimised the possibility that an enemy could disable the united states power grid or shut down the web because these systems were designed to resist severe cyberattacks.

Cyber Command is in command of defending US military networks from attacks and intrusions. Its top officer, Army General Keith Alexander, also heads the secretive National Security Agency, which gathers electronic intelligence from foreign governments.

The Defence Department is developing rules of engagement for the way commanders will operate in cyberspace and what missions they may be able to conduct under their very own authority.

The home of Representatives will tomorrow consider legislation to defend critical US industries and company networks better from electronic attacks and intrusions by foreign governments, cybercriminals and terrorist groups. But there are deep divisions over how best to achieve the goal.

The united states Chamber of Commerce and other business groups oppose cybersecurity regulations.

But Obama Administration officials and security experts say firms that run power plants, communication systems, chemical facilities and more must have to fulfill basic performance standards to prove they are able to resist cyberattacks or recover quickly from them.

There's broad agreement, however, at the need for the personal sector and Government to share details about hackers and the techniques they use to regulate the interior workings of corporate networks.

- AP