The Pentagon will spend $3.4 billion this year to develop a new generation of cyberweapons capable of disrupting enemy networks even when they’re offline, The Washington Post reported this week. These new offensive weapons will target closed systems like those for air defense, using radio signals to insert computer code into enemy networks. The Pentagon said that the new cybertechnology spending will be both offensive and defensive—but some experts are calling for increased focus on digital attack weapons. “You’ve got to start moving investment to the offensive side,” said Marine Corps Gen. James Cartwright, ex-vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
5 ways to help the environment while on vacationThe Week Recommends An afternoon of planting trees could be the best part of your trip
-
Doctors are taking on dental duties in low-income areasUnder the radar Physicians are biting into the dentistry industry
-
Instagram hopes that blurring nudity in messages will make teens saferThe Explainer The option will be turned on by default for users under 18
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion banSpeed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling BiblesSpeed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitnessIn Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Henry Kissinger dies aged 100: a complicated legacy?Talking Point Top US diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize winner remembered as both foreign policy genius and war criminal
-
Trump’s rhetoric: a shift to 'straight-up Nazi talk'Why everyone's talking about Would-be president's sinister language is backed by an incendiary policy agenda, say commentators
-
More covfefe: is the world ready for a second Donald Trump presidency?Today's Big Question Republican's re-election would be a 'nightmare' scenario for Europe, Ukraine and the West
