The Secret Arsenal

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In fact, cyber weapons exist in a realm not unlike the early days of the nuclear program, shrouded in secrecy, with plenty of curiosity but very little public information.

In part this secrecy is integral to the whole concept: One thing everyone I spoke to agreed on: It would be devastating. Bush White House from to As weapons, cyber capabilities differ in a few key ways from traditional weapons like missiles and bombs. Second, an attack can occur almost instantaneously against any target in the world.

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The Internet makes physical distance between enemies all but irrelevant, making it both easier for enemies to launch cyberattacks and harder for the government to monitor for them. Third, the use of a cyber capability is often a one-time deal: It could also compromise intelligence-collection activities that use the same exploit.

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Furthermore, the line between a military attack and an espionage operation is far blurrier in the cyber realm. What Everyone Needs To Know. That blurriness can be used to cloak responsibility, many observers think. For example, analysts have pointed out that if Stuxnet were indeed a U. Whoever conducted it, it announced something new was happening. In , the department revealed that it was creating mission teams to conduct offensive and defensive cyber operations, with 27 of those building up capacity to attack an enemy abroad.

The operations are run out of U. Keith Alexander, who at the time was wearing dual hats as both head of the command and director of the National Security Agency. A few lines later: Though now a few years out of date, they include detailed information about how the U.

Inside China's Secret Arsenal | Popular Science

In , the Washington Post reported from the Snowden disclosures that the U. Instead, it was the first step in the process intended to lead to more specific rules of engagement. He said that cyber offense emerged as a priority after he set up Cyber Command. Rather than just defend its own networks, he said, it became clear that the military would need to defend the country more broadly, and that would require offensive as well as defensive cyber capabilities.

The DOD is working on forming the cyber mission teams overall and four new joint force headquarters for cyber, including the Army one in Georgia. The Army cyber branch alone now has 1, people. But the specific rules of engagement, he said, are still to come. In one sense, specifying rules of engagement is even more important for cyber weapons than for kinetic ones, he said, because attacks occur so rapidly in the cyber realm.

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Alexander used the example of a missile flying at a city in the U. Please update your billing information. The subscription details associated with this account need to be updated.

Poison pins, rocks and fake logs: the secret arsenal of a long, silent war

Please update your billing details here to continue enjoying your subscription. Your subscription will end shortly. Please update your billing details here to continue enjoying your access to the most informative and considered journalism in the UK. Click here to see more Tap here to see more Tap here to see more. Accessibility Links Skip to content. In a single generation, China has transformed itself from a largely agrarian country into a global manufacturing and trading powerhouse.

China's economy is 20 times bigger than it was two decades ago and is on track to surpass the United States' as the world's largest. But perhaps most startling has been the growth of China's ambitious and increasingly powerful military. The PLA's budget is only a sixth of what the U. Meanwhile, Chinese president Hu Jintao has called for the PLA to carry out "new historic missions" in the 21st century—to move beyond the traditional goal of defending the nation's sovereignty and develop the global military reach of a true world superpower.

In some cases, China's increasing international presence could lead to greater cooperation with the U. But if American and Chinese forces end up in the same place with different goals, the result could be a standoff between two of the best-equipped militaries in the world. American officials aren't just concerned about the amount of money the Chinese military is spending. They're worried about the technology that money is buying.

Consider China's progress in building advanced warplanes. Until recently, American officials thought their F and F aircraft were the world's only fifth-generation fighters the name given to a class of stealthy fighter jets developed in the past decade, which are equipped with radar-evading features, high-performance engines and avionics, and networked computer systems. While Gates met with Hu Jintao, his hosts "coincidentally" revealed the existence of an advanced new fighter, the J, by staging the inaugural public flight over the city of Chengdu. The J is far from China's only new aircraft.

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The PLA is also aggressively upgrading its drone fleet. A decade ago, the army had almost no unmanned aerial vehicles UAVs. At aviation trade shows today, Chinese contractors display scores of drones under development. Among the most notable: China's future UAVs may also get a boost from American technology: Iran has reportedly given Chinese scientists access to the RQ advanced spy drone that went down in its territory last year.

Additionally, China is investing heavily in its navy. The PLA would like to change that.

The Chinese have spent the past few years retrofitting a 65,ton Soviet aircraft carrier which the PLA acquired using a fake travel agency as a front with new engines and weapons including Flying Leopard surface-to-air missile batteries and automated air defense machine-gun systems. The ship, called the Liaoning , can carry approximately 50 aircraft, including the Shenyang J Flying Shark, a fighter jet that may be as capable as an F China is also building stealthy 8,ton destroyers, along with nuclear submarines and amphibious assault ships. A new 36,ton cruise ship modified for military purposes, the Bahai Sea Green Pearl , can carry more than 2, soldiers and vehicles.

With its new naval muscle, China has dispatched troops and police to U.

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