When American forces in Iraq wanted to lure members of Al Qaeda into a trap, they hacked into one of the group\u2019s computers and altered information that drove them into American gun sights.<\/p>\n
When President George W. Bush ordered new ways to slow Iran\u2019s progress toward a nuclear bomb last year, he approved a plan for an experimental covert program \u201d\u201d its results still unclear \u201d\u201d to bore into their computers and undermine the project.<\/p>\n
And the Pentagon has commissioned military contractors to develop a highly classified replica of the Internet of the future. The goal is to simulate what it would take for adversaries to shut down the country\u2019s power stations, telecommunications and aviation systems, or freeze the financial markets \u201d\u201d in an effort to build better defenses against such attacks, as well as a new generation of online weapons.<\/p>\n
Just as the invention of the atomic bomb changed warfare and deterrence 64 years ago, a new international race has begun to develop cyberweapons and systems to protect against them.<\/p>\n