Cyberwarfare in the Era of Stuxnet and Flame
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President Obama ordered the Stuxnet virus attack on Iran's nuclear program. Has he changed the nature of warfare? Is the US vulnerable to counter-attack and to espionage by computer viruses like the one called "Flame?" Also, Disney announces it will restrict junk food ads during children's shows, and the Transit of Venus looks like a black hole punched in the Sun and it's just as rare as it sounds.
Banner image: Analyists at the National Cybersecurity & Communications Integration Center prepare for Cyber Storm III at their headquarters in Arlington, VA, September 24, 2010. Photo by Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images
Making News
Disney to Restrict Junk Foods Ads during Children's Shows ()
Walt Disney, the world's largest entertainment company, announced today that it's applying nutritional standards to advertising. No junk food ads on children's programs by 2015. Edmund Lee is media reporter for Bloomberg Businessweek.
Guests:
- Edmund Lee: Bloomberg BusinessWeek
Links:
Main Topic
The New World of Cyber Warfare and Espionage ()
Barack Obama picked up the unmanned drone program where George W. Bush left off. The Stuxnet computer virus that disabled part of Iran's nuclear program was science fiction made real by President Obama's executive order. He proved that computer codes can do what used to require military action. Does that mean they're subject to the rules of warfare? Can other nations strike back? The so-called “Flame” virus doesn't do physical damage, but it can learn the most closely guarded secrets of nation states and corporations. If the US uses these technologies, is it vulnerable to counter-attack? Is it prepared or in a state of denial?
Guests:
- David Sanger: New York Times, @SangerNYT
- Richard Clarke: Good Harbor Consulting
- Kevin Mitnick: Mitnick Security Consulting, @Kevinmitnick
- Catherine Lotrionte: Georgetown University
Links:
- US Strategic Cyber Command
- Sanger's 'Confront and Conceal: Obama's Secret Wars and Surprising Use of American Power'
- Sanger on Obama ordering cyberattacks against Iran (NYT)
- Clarke's 'Cyber War: The Next Threat to National Security and What to Do about It'
- Mitnick's 'Ghost in the Wires: My Adventures as the World's Most Wanted Hacker'
- Lotrionte (and others) on 'NewsHour,' discussing 'Flame' malware
Reporter's Notebook
Solar Eclipse of Venus ()
It's a rare day for astronomers. The Transit of Venus occurs only twice every 120 years, but weather may be the problem for viewing today's rare event in the United States. Ed Krupp, Director of the Griffith Observatory and author Skywatchers, Shamans and Kings: Astronomy and the Archeology of Power, has more on what the event is and what it's meant to astronomers and to various cultures.
Guests:
- Edward Krupp: Griffith Observatory, @GriffithNews
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