America’s cybersecurity threat: The US is right to improve its cybersecurity defenses. But would it respond to cyber-attacks with military force?

Across the world at this moment, computer networks are being hacked and attacked. These cyber exploits range from the teenage gamer cracking websites for fun to the criminal syndicate stealing payment card data for easy money to foreign intelligence agencies looking for state secrets they can exploit to beat their adversaries economically and militarily.President Barack Obama understands this cyber-threat. On Friday, he announced his decision to create a new cybersecurity office at the White House led by a cybersecurity coordinator and released his 60-day review of the government’s cybersecurity posture. The cyber-tsar, whom many think will be Melissa Hathaway, who oversaw the writing of the review, will be tasked with taking its recommendations and securing not only government information networks but America’s digital infrastructure, which is overwhelmingly controlled by private businesses.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2009/jun/01/obama-us-cybersecurity-tsar