This is how war will be conducted in the future

Cyberwar is no longer an imaginary plot device for science fiction literature. It's here, now, and potentially more powerful and efficacious than an armada of sophisticated warships or aircraft.

SAN JOSE, CALIF. - Cyber-spies hacked into the U.S. electric grid and left behind computer programs that would let them disrupt service, exposing potentially catastrophic vulnerabilities in the national infrastructure, a former U.S. government official said Wednesday.

The intrusions were discovered after electric companies gave the government permission to audit their systems, the ex-official said. The ex-official was not authorized to discuss the matter and spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

The inspections of the electric grid were triggered by fears over a March 2007 video from the Idaho National Laboratory, which had staged a demonstration of what damage hackers could do if they seized control of a crucial part of the electric grid. The video showed a power turbine spinning out of control until it became a smoking hulk and shut down.

Another devastating weapon of futurewar is a monetary attack; our country may already have set itself up for that...