The New York Times website was hacked yesterday, apparently the work of a group calling itself the Syrian Electronic Army, which supports Syrian President Assad. The news site remained unavailable for hours, even while U.S. officials openly discussed possible strikes against Syria in retaliation for a recent chemical attack. While not catastrophic, the disruption was a grim reminder that conflicts are no longer confined to physical battlefields and that cyber weapons have unlimited range.
Also yesterday, outgoing Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano warned in her farewell address that a cataclysmic cyber attack on the U.S. is only a matter of time: “Our country will . . . at some point, face a major cyber event that will have a serious effect on our lives, our economy, and the everyday functioning of our society.” (emphasis added). So perhaps we can expect more frequent tremors like the NYT website shutdown before The Big One eventually hits.