The US military is not only prepared to retaliate when the country faces a cyber-attack, it has an approved list of cyber weapons ready to deploy when hackers come knocking on the door.
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This Pentagon has secretly compiled a list of cyber-weapons and accompanying rules that govern their usage. This protocol has been around for a few months and is approved by the Pentagon and the CIA.
The document lists computer viruses available for cyber-warfare, describes techniques for covert network infiltration, and discusses the use of beacons to mark a target for a future viral attack. How exciting! [The Washington Post, kentoh/Shutterstock]
DISCUSSION
Attack: Young hacker uses LOIC to take down website for an hour.
Counterattack: Swat team arrives. Sent to federal prison for 8 years. Life effectively ruined.
Seems fair.
I know they don't say explicitly that they'll counter in those situations, but it seems pretty likely they will. They should restrict strong counteraction to a direct attack on the US government.