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PENTAGON planners are secretly preparing for cyberwar - a new type of information battle fought at computer terminals by military hackers attempting to demolish the enemy's infrastructure with keyboards rather than bombs or bullets.
During the bombing campaign against Yugoslavia earlier this year, the United States considered an all-out cyber attack on Serb military targets and civilian services, according to United States news reports. But they held back because of the many practical and ethical questions surrounding the new, untested battleground.
Military computer scientists say the time is fast approaching when airstrikes and ground troops will be accompanied by sophisticated hacking incursions to shut down electrical and water supplies, derail trains and disrupt financial operations.
But as the Pentagon considered a cyber-assault on Yugoslavia last spring, lawyers for the US Defence Department gave a warning that such an attack might be considered a violation of war ethics that could leave the US open to war crimes charges by violating the principles that only military targets should be hit, while civilian damage and indiscriminate attacks should be minimised.
The lack of sophistication in the Yugoslav government computer network, which is largely decentralised and relatively rudimentary, made it less vulnerable to cyber-attack, defence experts concluded.
The US military did use electronic jamming aircraft to target computers controlling the Serbian air defence system, The Washington Post reported, but held back from a full assault using computers based on the ground.
An initial 50-page document has been drafted by the Pentagon laying out legal guidelines for the military use of computers in conflict.
The confidential document argued that, just as airstrikes are carefully assessed for civilian impact, so the military effects of any cyber-attack must be measured against possible civilian damage. Planners advised against assaults on private institutions such as banks, stock exchanges and academic institutions.
Russia is pushing for a UN resolution governing the use of information technology as a weapon. But some American officials have dismissed this as an attempt to stall development in an area where the United States enjoys a clear advantage.
As with conventional war, the effectiveness of any cyber-strike may depend ultimately on the quality of the intelligence underpinning it.