Cyberweapons Aren’t Like Missiles

In recent weeks, WikiLeaks has released a stash of Central Intelligence Agency tools designed to break into phones, computers and other devices -- a windfall for hackers and a headache for the devices’ makers. With U.S. data breaches at an all-time high, it’s alarming that even the CIA is vulnerable: If only the government put as much effort into protecting computer systems as it does into hacking them.

Some 90 percent of government cyber spending goes towards offensive efforts, according to Rick Ledgett, the departing deputy director of the National Security Agency. Apparently, the idea is that the best defense is a good offense. That’s reasonable in physical war, which is how the Pentagon seems to be positioning us. As one military official characterized it: “If you shut down our power grid, maybe we’ll put a missile down one of your smokestacks.”