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"Before September 11, 2001 the warning signs were there. We weren't organized. We weren't ready. And we suffered terribly for that lack of attention," said Panetta. "We cannot let that happen again. This is a pre-9/11 moment."

Richard Clarke criticized the Bush administration for their suppposed inaction to his warnings pre-September 11. Any remaining credibility he had concerning terror or cybersecurity should be obliterated with this development, considering he said this 12 months ago in an interview with CNet....

CNet: What is the real or imagined threat of cyberterrorism at this point?

Clarke: I never use the term "cyberterrorism." I think it's a very misleading phrase. There is terrorism and there are cybersecurity issues but the two haven't really overlapped. And the term "cyberterrorism" conjures up al Qaeda taking out the power grid and they haven't done that. The real crimes in cyberspace are (financial) theft and espionage.

This is not an overnight development. We know Iran, Russia, China, North Korea, and others have been working on this for years.