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THE potential weapons in the United States cyberarsenal include techniques to project images on to enemy television screens, "logic bombs" to scramble computer networks, fast-breeding computer "worm viruses" and the electronic spreading or combating of propaganda and false information.
Secret military research groups in Russia and the United States are believed to be racing to produce an effective "logic bomb", a bug that could be placed in an enemy computer network and then activated at will, scrambling the system.
The Pentagon is also concerned that Russia, China, Iraq and Libya may be developing worm viruses, that might disrupt cash transfers, disable entire computer networks or even affect weapons systems. For propaganda or counter-propaganda purposes, American military technicians are working on a system that could "morph" video images on to enemy television stations, disrupting the flow of statecontrolled news or broadcasting footage that would otherwise be censored by the enemy.
While some Pentagon planners favour cyber-warfare as a bloodless alternative to conventional methods, others say that anticipating the after and side-effects of such techniques requires detailed knowledge of both the hardware and software used by the target.
As with conventional war, the effectiveness of any cyber-strike may depend ultimately on the quality of the intelligence underpinning it.