After the U.S. government recently accused China and Russia of economic espionage using cyber attacks in a report, Reuters now says that the American government is beefing up its cyber arsenal to counter these attacks.

The U.S. government, through the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), will beef up its cyber arsenal. Image: Loren Sztajer / Flickr (CC)

According to Reuters, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Director Regina Dugan made the remarks that the U.S. military should have “more and better options” in dealing with cyber attacks and threats of attacks.

“Modern warfare will demand the effective use of cyber, kinetic and combined cyber and kinetic means,” the DARPA director is quoted by the news organization saying.

Reuters explains that kinetic is military jargon for conventional warfare.

According to Dugan, “Malicious cyber attacks are not merely an existential threat to our bits and bytes. They are a real threat to our physical systems, including our military systems.”

The Darpa director also said that the U.S. will develop weapons for cyber offensives.

In a report on CNN, Dugan is quoted saying “DARPA will focus an increasing portion of our cyber research on the investigation of offensive capabilities to address military specific needs.”

About Solon Harmony Dolor

A passion for technology and journalism makes this upcoming writer very interested in social media and technology news. Fresh from finishing an English and Journalism degree from the University of the Philippines Diliman, he aims to bring interesting news to our readers .