Venable partner and retired Navy Rear Admiral Jamie Barnett was quoted in a September 10, 2013 TechNewsWorld article on the option to use cyberweapons against Syria following news that its government used chemical weapons against its own people. Cyberweapons have the advantage of destroying equipment without harming people, however they can be hard to target and have unintended consequences.
“If a decision is made to take some military action against Syria, then a modern component even of limited warfare right now is cyberwarfare, and I'm sure that's going to be part of the calculus of how best to respond to the gas attacks in Syria,” said Admiral Barnett. He pointed out that the use of cyberweapons may depend on any current cyberespionage activity within Syria. “Americans may already be inside Syria's networks, and they may want to preserve that ability to gather intelligence -- so they may not want to use cyberweapons if they would interfere with that ability,” added Admiral Barnett.
“If a decision is made to take some military action against Syria, then a modern component even of limited warfare right now is cyberwarfare, and I'm sure that's going to be part of the calculus of how best to respond to the gas attacks in Syria,” said Admiral Barnett. He pointed out that the use of cyberweapons may depend on any current cyberespionage activity within Syria. “Americans may already be inside Syria's networks, and they may want to preserve that ability to gather intelligence -- so they may not want to use cyberweapons if they would interfere with that ability,” added Admiral Barnett.