Cyberwar is inevitable. From the perspective of our enemies, waging a cyberwar is just too easy and too effective to ignore. Put bluntly, a cyberwar has an excellent ROI (Return on Investment).

Clausewitz observed, "War is a continuation of politics by other means." Information warfare - a cyberwar - war waged via computers and the Internet, certainly can further a political agenda. What makes cyberwar such a potent threat, though, is the economic implications. Not only can a cyberwar damage enemies, unlike virtually ever other war-fighting modality, a well-run cyberwar can also become a profit center through activities like organized identity theft.

When most people think of war (and, for that matter, terrorist attacks), they most often think of an outcome with physical destruction and loss of life. But war (and terrorism) is most often waged to meet a desired end, whether to gain territory, reduce the strength of, or distract an enemy, or to simply cause damage. Cyberwar can be used here as well. It's just more subtle - and therefore, can be all that more effective.

Traditional war is more like a bullet to the chest. Cyberwar is like a cancer - just as dangerous and deadly, but far more torturous over the long term. And like cancer, we've yet to find a cure for cyberwar.

As more and more of the world becomes connected to the Internet, computers of our enemies are mere milliseconds away. Homeland security begins at home and in David's ongoing work for the Digital Defense of America, you can learn about both the risks involved, and some possible solutions.

Here are some of his articles:

State-sponsored cyberterrorism
COUNTERTERRORISM MAGAZINE | SPRING 2009
We've discussed before how it's astonishingly inexpensive to conduct a cyber-attack against another party. For potential and actual U.S. enemies (and those countries like China who walk a fine line), state-sponsored cyberterrorism has all the characteristics of a good business decision. I have no doubt we'll see more and more of these activities, and like other cyberattacks, the frequency and potential impact is likely to grow.

Is offshoring a national security risk?
CNN - ANDERSON COOPER 360 | December 17, 2009
What's particularly disturbing in a post-9/11 America supposedly more aware of national security issues is just how much confidential American data is finding its way into the hands of foreign nationals.

USB: The Trojan Horse of digital technology
COUNTERTERRORISM MAGAZINE | WINTER 2009
If you're not much of a computer user, you might not be familiar with the term USB. It stands, in geek-speak, for Universal Serial Bus -- and it's the "universal" part of its name that can cause no end of security headaches. Most people just don't understand how the USB port on most computers can open a back door into any secure facility.

Using online social networks in counterterrorism and law enforcement
COUNTERTERRORISM MAGAZINE | FALL 2009
Many of us think of social networks -- if we think of them at all -- as those "computer things" our kids use to plan parties and gossip amongst their friends. But, used correctly (and with careful consideration of any legal restrictions), social networks can come close to giving us a look inside the very souls of potential crooks and terrorists.

What if someone stole the Library of Congress?
CNN - ANDERSON COOPER 360 | May 25, 2009
Last week, The National Archives -- a repository of important government documents, including the U.S. Constitution -- announced it had lost a computer hard drive. Congressional aides briefed on the matter say it contains "more than 100,000" Social Security numbers and Secret Service and White House operating procedures. David Gewirtz tells us why we should be concerned.

Attack of the zombie computers
CNN - ANDERSON COOPER 360 | May 20, 2009
Zombies. I hate zombies. I particularly hate it when wave after wave of zombies come at you, eating brains and dripping flesh. And yet they came - zombies...everyday computers, brains hijacked by outsiders and linked together to form an army on the attack - they came in droves.

The spies who wear sweatpants
CNN - ANDERSON COOPER 360 | April 22, 2009
It used to be spying was hands-on. To turn someone into an Aldrich Ames, you had to tempt them with money or revenge or ideology, promise them sex or catch them at it. Today's spies are less like a real-life James Bond and more like Lewis Skolnick from "Revenge of the Nerds".

Is China friend or foe?
CNN - ANDERSON COOPER 360 | April 10, 2009
Like two schoolhouse enemies forced to work together on a class project, the fortunes of China and the United States are inextricably linked. But that doesn't mean both nations have to see eye-to-eye on everything - or that they even play well with one another.

AC360 Exclusive Investigation
How the President's secret helicopter plans wound up in Iran
CNN - ANDERSON COOPER 360 | March 10, 2009
The risk isn't just about military contractors and national security. These programs can upload whatever they find on your computer and share them with everyone. They can upload your banking information, your medical history, everything you've got in My Documents, your passwords, your credit card numbers, and even that embarrassing love letter to the hottie working Thursday nights at the local Taco Bell.

Big boomers go boom: how two nuclear subs could collide
CNN - ANDERSON COOPER 360 | February 18, 2009
How exactly do two super-secret stealthy submarines, hiding out in 77.6 million cubic miles of Atlantic Ocean, somehow manage to occupy the exact same space at the exact same time, and have a nuclear-powered fender-bender?

Move over IEDs: The age of ICCDs (Improvised Computer Controlled Devices) may soon be upon us
COUNTERTERRORISM MAGAZINE | WINTER 2008
We all know the devastating damage IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices) have caused our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Washington Post estimates that 60% of U.S. deaths in Iraq are the result of IEDs. While diabolically effective, IEDs are still stupid devices, in that virtually none of them have on-board intelligence. Unfortunately, it's only a matter of time before our enemies decide to incorporate intelligence into their improvised destruction and intelligence-gathering apparatus. This analysis (Web version to be published) described the risk in terrifying detail.

The coming cyberwar
COUNTERTERRORISM MAGAZINE | AUTUMN 2008
As you probably know, Russia has attacked Georgia (Tblisi, not Atlanta) with tanks and troops. However, before the physical attack, there was a cyberattack against many of Georgia's online resources. First indications seemed to imply the cyberattack originated as a Russian offensive, while later analysis by some sources dispute that, claiming that "script kiddies" are behind the assault. David wrote this article for the current issue of Counterterrorism. Given the timing of the Georgia attack, we felt it'd also be of interest to our Computing Unplugged and OutlookPower readers and are reprinting it here with permission.

U.S. government agencies' cyber-security and record-keeping worse than previously thought
DOMINOPOWER MAGAZINE | JULY 2008
The United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) is the audit, evaluation, and investigation arm of the United States Congress. This month, the GAO released a 74-page report entitled "National Archives and Selected Agencies Need to Strengthen E-Mail Management". After reading the report, we made three key observations. The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has completely abdicated responsibility for investigating records management in the U.S. government, putting all U.S. government record-keeping at risk. The four agencies investigated by the GAO aren't doing all that bad by government standards, but by corporate standards, oh boy! And, it wouldn't be a new article with a new security risk, this time there's a whopper at the Department of Homeland Security and another at the Federal Trade Commission.

Analysis: Spying Chinese temptress steals senior Brit's BlackBerry
DOMINOPOWER MAGAZINE | JULY 2008
Oh boy! Here we go again. Another senior government official has had his BlackBerry stolen by another foreign intelligence agency. But this time, it's not an American official. According to the U.K.'s The Sunday Times a senior aide to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown had his BlackBerry stolen by Chinese intelligence agents while on a trip to China.

The worrisome implications of the Mexican theft of White House BlackBerry devices
DOMINOPOWER MAGAZINE | April 2008
Our ongoing story about the security of White House email took a strange turn on Friday, proving some of the national security concerns I've been discussing to be true in a particularly tangible and unfortunate way. What makes this topic so troubling, of course, is the serious national security breach that may have occurred. But there's more to the story, including issues of the relationship between the United States and Mexico, and even how racial stereotyping may have contributed to spinning this story in a way that may be obscuring the true magnitude of the possible damage to our national security.