Debate on cyberwar threat

At debate, organized by the Intelligence Squared U.S. Foundation, four top security experts discussed about the cyberwar threat. 

The experts offered differing perspectives on the threat of cyberconflicts between nations and the potential damage they might cause. Two security experts, Mark Rotenberg and Bruce Schneier, criticized the overuse of the cyberwar threat. John McConnell emphasized that while there is a great deal of hype surrounding cyberwar, there also is a very real threat in a form of real destruction of data. Jonathan Zittrain offered different perspective, and said that there may not already be a cyberwar going on against America, but the potential is there. The debaters generally did not argue that cyberattacks could potentially cause significant damage, and all of the panelists agreed that a chief problem with the cyberwar debate is the question of how to define the term. Before the debate began, 24 percent of the live audience agreed that the threat of cyberwar was grossly exaggerated, 54 percent disagreed, and 22 percent were undecided. After the debate, 23 percent agreed that the threat of cyberwar was grossly exaggerated, 71 percent disagreed, and only 6 percent were undecided. Detailed information can be found by visiting DarkReading web site.