From Brian Prince, Security Week:  In a keynote today at the ISC2 Security Congress in Philadelphia, [Robert] Gates – who served as defense secretary from 2006 and 2011 and is also a former director of the CIA – said the threat of cyber-war waged by nation-states in some ways is less problematic than the prospect of attacks from non-state actors. . . .

"With few assets to strike back at, they are hard to deter," he continued. "If a terrorist group gains disruptive and destructive capability, we have to assume they will strike with little hesitation. So in cyber we have a small window of opportunity to act before the most malicious actors acquire the most destructive technologies."

Adding to the threat landscape is the fact that getting involved in cyber-attacks does not require the resources and industrial infrastructure needed to mass produce military technology such as stealth fighters, he said.

"In contrast, cyber capabilities have low barriers to entry," Gates said. "A small number of highly trained programmers using off-the-shelf equipment can develop toxic tools and deploy them with great effect."   (photo: Paul Davis)

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