Digital Battlespace 
AFCEA West 2012: Action urged over cyber security
An industry expert has emphasised the importance of a universal sense of responsibility when it comes to enhancing cyber security.
Speaking to Shephard during the AFCEA West conference in San Diego, US on 26 January, Bob Noonan, senior vice president at Booz Allen Hamilton, said that there is no real ownership of the internet, and 'we cannot take the security of the network for granted'.
'The real enabler for our warfare now is the network,' he explained, and because 'in the military we're using precision-guided weapons that depend on the network, the sanctity of the data has to be upheld'.
Referring to a net-centric world that heavily relies on cyber security for protection of finance and personal information, Noonan said that it comes down to the individual level to keep security of data stored on the internet: 'It's not just a government and military problem, it's an international problem. Frankly I'd like to see us move a little faster.
'We have some countries that train people to hack. How do you protect it? We're still consumed by challenges because technology changes so quickly.'
Because the world is so network-dependant, Noonan argued that hackers could theoretically cause flooding and power cuts. However, 'over time we can recover', referring to the fact that here are more disastrous types of warfare.
‘While technology assists a cyber warrior, I don't think a push of a button or a key press can take over states,' he argued.
Noonan applauded the efforts of the US Cyber Command, and said: 'I think we've done a pretty good job of working out the rules of engagement with this. The genie is out of the bottle on that. We've comes light-years from where we were three years ago.'
However he did identify that the question of attribution becomes difficult when it comes to cyber warfare: 'Who is it? It's just ones and zeros flying through the network.
'I think we're going to have to start controlling the internet,' Noonan concluded. 'I don't see there being any other way. If you don't control the internet you're going to have to control other things instead.'
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