The next Pearl Harbor could come via your computer

The headline is quite a statement, but I'm not the one making it. While posting an AP story this morning on new cyberwarfare guidelines, I stumbled upon this alarming quote by newly-approved Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta:

"I've often said that there's a strong likelihood that the next Pearl Harbor that we confront could very well be a cyberattack that cripples our power systems, our grid, our security systems, our financial systems, our governmental systems," he said.

A year ago I might have dismissed that as a little overreaction, or even a little alarmism. But then you consider that hackers have already broken into an FBI partner, the Senate, the CIA, and have also declared "war" on the government.

I don't really fear the Russians or the Chinese. But I fear a cyberattack. And so does Leon Panetta.