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US Defense Chief Warns of â€˜Cyber Pearl Harborâ€™

12 October 2012 19:30 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. The United States is facing a possible â€œcyber Pearl Harborâ€ carried out by computer hackers that could result in infrastructure damage and loss of life, US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said, APA reports quoting RIA Novosti.
Calling the Internet a â€œbattlefield of the futureâ€ where Americaâ€™s enemies â€œcan seek to do harm to our country, to our economy, and to our citizens,â€ Panetta said in a speech Thursday evening that the US Congress must pass cyber security legislation in order to protection the nation.
â€œWithout it, we are and we will be vulnerable,â€ Panetta said in a speech at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum on the Hudson River in New York City.
Panetta singled out Russia and China as nations with â€œadvanced cyber capabilitiesâ€ and said Iran is also undertaking efforts to use cyber space to its advantage.
â€œAs director of the CIA and now Secretary of Defense, I have understood that cyber attacks are every bit as real as the more well-known threats like terrorism, nuclear weapons proliferation and the turmoil that we see in the Middle East,â€ Panetta said. â€œAnd the cyber threats facing this country are growing.â€
Under the most destructive scenarios, Panetta said, the United States could face several simultaneous cyber attacks that could damage critical infrastructure and important military systems and communications networks.
â€œThe collective result of these kinds of attacks could be a cyber Pearl Harbor; an attack that would cause physical destruction and the loss of life,â€ Panetta said. â€œIn fact, it would paralyze and shock the nation and create a new, profound sense of vulnerability.â€