In recent times. The risks of cyberwar have risen far beyond the virtual computer realm. The power and reach of the National Security Agency's (NSA) scale were revealed thanks to Edward Snowden's revelation of secret papers. NOVA has performed considerable technical and science research on Cyberwar, a battleground now dominated by the NSA, in order to assess America's readiness in the new arms of the war. US, with the assistance of Israel, began the battle by deploying the covert and very sophisticated Stuxnet worm program against Iran's centrifuges, delaying Iran's bombing campaign. In return, the attack prompted Iran and other countries to launch attacks on Americans critical infrastructure making it vulnerable to attacks and retaliation.
The core stakeholders in the scenario include Americans, NSA, and potential enemies to the US. The technical problem that needs to be addressed is the increasing cyberwars and their effects. Initially, the wars are considered a defense mechanism against aggressive nations to deter and cripple their attacks. This leads to the unethical issue of the US defense system making systems vulnerable to spy on other countries sharing the same standards, while at the same time compromising their privacy and security. NSA has deviated from its essential work of defending the Americans and now does surveillance on her adversaries by subverting her security standards.
Considering the case from American’s viewpoint, they can argue that they suffer collateral damage from cyberwarfare. As civilians, vulnerabilities created in the standardized software they share with the military could be targeted by the enemy to cause immeasurable damage to the unsuspecting citizens in the name of revenging against the military.
Looking at the case from NSA’s perspective by condition pacifism, they feel justified to create vulnerabilities in the system since it would help them spy on potential enemies, counter the attack or strengthen their network. As the most electronically connected and industrialized country in the world, the NSA feels that they need to be miles ahead of their enemies’ ploys through surveillance. This would protect the US’s potential target infrastructures like the internet which is used business communication on a daily basis (Bamford and Tim. "Exclusive: Edward Snowden On the Cyber Warfare).
Finally, looking at the perspective of the supposed US enemies, they could argue that they are simply staging a revenge and retaliation against the US which was the first to use cyberwar (launching of Stuxnet virus) and spy on other countries. Revenge exists as a result of evolution through natural selection, and justification to strike back for the image and well-being of the country’s network system.
Traditional military urges that cyberwarfare lie beyond the reach of universal laws, however, continued cyber-attack threats calls for a response which is the real war Bamford and Tim. "Exclusive: Edward Snowden On the Cyber Warfare). For this case, it is explicit claims can be made for the warring sides. But, still, it was unethical for the US to launch a cyberattack against Iran as seen from the resulting increased threats and heightened suspicions and tension from countries which suspect to be surveilled by the US.
It would now be better if the US stopped cyberwars against other countries who feel the urge to show that they can also cause harms through the same channel. By the end of the day, the US will have a lot to lose as compared to competitors since technology and internet, which would be the primary target of the attacks, is the backbone of the country. The privacy and security of Americans will be at stake if the attacks are continued.
Work cited
Bamford, James, and Tim Chant. "Exclusive: Edward Snowden On the Cyber Warfare — NOVA Next | PBS." NOVA Next, 2015, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/next/military/snowden-transcript/.
