Ross: Where US could actually be vulnerable in war with Iran

This week, news outlets have been laying out various retaliation options for Iran.

Ross: Is it all really worth an all-out war with Iran?

CBS national security contributor Mike Morrell, who once ran the CIA, listed those possibilities, which include “cyberattacks against the United States,” going to point out how “the Iranians have become more sophisticated at that over the years.”

And so here we go again.

I figure we can thwart whatever military retaliation Iran might cook up. But to turn on the computer one morning and find that it doesn’t recognize you?

I know we’ve all had the occasional computer crash, but to have an avenging Ayatollah going after corporate computers, where it’s not just one computer that goes down but all of them? It’s supposed to be impossible, but computer chips have this fundamental flaw: They obey any properly-worded order, no matter who gives it.

And we’re not ready.

We have fire drills, active shooter drills, but when was your last cybersecurity drill, where they just turn off all the computers?

Jayapal: Iranian-American border detentions unacceptable

Yes we Americans are relentless, yes we are fearless. But when the computers go down we are also helpless. And every day technology is turning more dumb products into smart products.

It used to be that thanks to those two big oceans, you’d need trained terrorists or guided missiles to punish America.

But once we’re all zooming around in our interconnected 5G neural network smart cars – without steering wheels or brake pedals – whoever comes up with the right keystrokes has all the weapons they need.

Listen to the Seattle’s Morning News weekday mornings from 5-9 a.m. on KIRO Radio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.

Follow @http://www.twitter.com/thedaveross