Boosting U.S. cyberwarfare capabilities as well the country's ability to launch effective cyberstrikes and survive the probable retaliation is the goal of Plan X, a five-year, $110 million U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency research effort that seeks assistance from the private sector, academia, and computer game companies. "If they can do it, it's a really big deal," says the National Research Council's Expert Herbert S. Lin. "If they achieve it, they're talking about being able to dominate the digital battlefield just like they do the traditional battlefield." Items on the Plan X agenda including plotting out the whole of cyberspace on a self-updating map so commanders can identify and disable targets using computer code delivered through the Internet or other means. Experts say a massive amount of upfront intelligence work is needed to realize the digital map. Also part of Plan X is the development of a robust operating system that can launch attacks and withstand counter strikes. “Other countries are preparing for a cyberwar," says former U.S. National Security Agency official Richard M. George. "If we’re not pushing the envelope in cyber, somebody else will.”
