[Infowarrior] - Mercenary cyber warfare?

[Richard Forno]

(I thought the Beltway Bandits providing 'cyber' expertise were digital mercs already? --- rick)

Mercenary cyber warfare?

Former NSA & CIA Director Suggests Employing Mercenaries For Cyberwarfare

http://www.itproportal.com/2011/08/01/former-nsa-cia-director-suggests-employing-mercenaries-cyberwarfare/

One of the architects of US foreign policy under George W. Bush,
General Michael Hayden, suggested that the US Government should
consider creating a "Digital Blackwater" during an open conversation
with Bloomberg's Allan Holmes and several other cybersecurity
specialists on stage, during an event called the Aspen Security Forum.

Blackwater refers to the US private military group founded in 1997 and
which has been renamed as Xe Services LLC, a move possibly linked with
a number of high controversies that arose after the company expanded
its security-related operations into Iraq and Afghanistan.

Recruiting mercenaries, Hayden suggested “might be one of those big
new ideas in terms of how we have to conduct ourselves in this new
cyber domain,” referring to cyber warfare.

He continued by saying “You think back long enough in history and
there are times when the private sector was responsible for its own
defense,” before adding “we may come to a point where defense is more
actively and aggressively defined even for the private sector and what
is permitted there is something that we would never let the private
sector do in physical space".

Hayden went on to suggest the creation of a digital Blackwater,
something that Xe might already be considering before hinting at what
will happen next; "private sector expands to fill the empty space"
before ominously claiming, "these are the kinds of things that are
going to be put into play here very, very soon.”

Hayden's comments should not be taken lightly because of his
background as the Director of the CIA and also the National Security
Agency under George W. Bush; both agencies have either been hacked or
been heavily involved in cyber warfare. Under his leadership, both
also significantly increased their partnerships with private military
groups like Blackwater.

Recruiting whitehat hackers in the world of online security is nothing
new, but Hayden suggests externalising the process of cyberwarfare
away from the US government as it did with private military companies
during the last decade. The complete discussion can be found below.

http://www.itproportal.com/2011/08/01/former-nsa-cia-director-suggests-employing-mercenaries-cyberwarfare/