US military prepares new rules for cyber war: Panetta

WASHINGTON (AFP/AP) - The United States faces a growing threat of a "cyber-Pearl Harbor" and has drafted new rules for the military that would enable it to move aggressively against digital attacks, according to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.

Mr Panetta, in a speech to business leaders in New York City on Thursday night, also became the first US official to publicly acknowledge computer-based assaults against oil and gas companies in the Persian Gulf.

He called them probably the most destructive cyberattacks the private sector has seen to date.

The amended rules of engagement underline the need to defend Defense Department computer networks, "but also to be prepared to defend the nation and our national interests against an attack in or through cyberspace," he said late Thursday.