The Cuckoo's egg

In medieval times, castles with thick walls were constructed to protect persons and their possessions. Sadly, there have always been offenders who plunder for a profit. At first, arrows and rocks were used to attack. Then black powder and cannons changed the battle field. Today, the networked world first defended itself with passwords. Only the exact combination of characters could open the door. Then holes in operating systems and communication networks allowed modern pillagers to hack there way into sensitive information. The story of Cliff Stoll is evidence of a computer hacker's genesis cannon shot. The days of simple password protection crumbled after Cliff found out how far Markus Hess penetrated into government websites. Warfare requires rules and the prosecution of rule breakers. WWII produced the Geneva convention. The convention rules cross boundaries and allow the prosecution of war criminals. At the end of The Cuckoo's Egg, Markus Hess still walked free from his crime. There's no need for a cyber world war before standardized laws are created, allowing the prosecution of cyber criminals in other nations. With a law comes the ability to prosecute offenders. The cyber history of the networked world is still young. But the lessons learned from past warfare can be applied to the fresh battle field of computers. Governments need to plan, prepare, and protect now for future nuclear cyber attacks. Learning from the past lends to a safer and better prepared future.