Pentagon's "Cyber Storm" war game simulates blogger leaks, train disorder -- wait, blogger leaks?

You've got to give the Pentagon credit for imagining every possible threat scenario in its latest wargame, dubbed "Cyber Storm," but the plotline this time around is pretty wild. Starting with an electronic attack on the Port Authority of New Jersey, major new networks and bloggers spread "believable but misleading" information without revealing their sources -- all while hundreds of people on the "no-fly" list stream into airports, DC's Metro trains shut down, air traffic control towers in Philly and Chicago are disrupted, and mysterious liquids are found on the tube in London. That's quite an afternoon, but we're taking offense to the Pentagon's classification of the press and bloggers as "threats" -- come on guys, we're here to help. We wouldn't spread rumors -- there's nothing at all in the hollowed-out left leg of the front pew at St. Micheal's Church in Fort Walton, Kansas.

[Mike10010100 @ Jan 31st 2008 7:09PM]

Not spread rumors my foot.

I love you engadget, but you are kind of a rumor monger.

[SvenOlsen @ Jan 31st 2008 7:19PM]

"nothing at all in the hollowed-out left leg of the front pew at St. Micheal's Church in Fort Walton, Kansas"

dis is confirmed, nading to see here...move along.

[Michael Wong @ Jan 31st 2008 7:34PM]

that's just great. the week i choose to quit my job and blog for a living, i've just endangered my life. sheesh.

[Raheem @ Jan 31st 2008 7:44PM]

I understood so little of this!

[Toadlet @ Jan 31st 2008 8:36PM]

That's a good story. Stick with that one.

[David @ Jan 31st 2008 7:45PM]

FIRST AMENDMENT FTW

[producerism @ Jan 31st 2008 7:52PM]

seeing how the last few "exercises" turned into full-blown real world events, I take these news articles without the usual grain of salt.

[Allen @ Jan 31st 2008 7:55PM]

Alright, we've got the first amendment whino, the confused guy, and the soon-to-be-crying-like-a-baby-for-his-job-back-..guy.

Time to settle this, ok the Pentagon says engadget and other blogs are evil, so they came up with "anti-evil" excercises to counteract engadget. The pew isn't where the film is, the baptising basin is.

Back to seriousness, engadget, you and every other blog are indeed rumor mills. Just yesterday you were talking about Motorola selling its cell business on a, yeah, a rumor, and today you interpret a saving-face mechanism as "truth." So what if this all even does turn out to be true, YOU ARE A RUMOR MILL. Its why I love you.

[echiu @ Jan 31st 2008 7:55PM]

darn those leaky bloggers.

[Miguel @ Jan 31st 2008 7:59PM]

"We wouldn't spread rumors -- there's nothing at all in the hollowed-out left leg of the front pew at St. Micheal's Church in Fort Walton, Kansas."

Indeed there's not. It was removed by Dr. Stanley Goodspeed on a tip from Captain John Mason of Her Majesty's Secret Service.

Nice reference.

[wickedpheonix @ Jan 31st 2008 8:07PM]

Does that and church and that city even exist? lol...

[yoyodude64 @ Jan 31st 2008 8:18PM]

allen...the rumor turned out to be true

[videonevin @ Jan 31st 2008 9:23PM]

producerism
@ Jan 31st 2008 7:52PM
"seeing how the last few "exercises" turned into full-blown real world events, I take these news articles without the usual grain of salt."

Well seeing as norad was doing war games on 911, simulating the same type of attacks that happened on 911; and london police and insurance companies were conducting a terror simulation exercise of the exact bombings in 2005 on the morning they happened; don't be surprised to see this "cyber storm" become real the day of the war game.

[Deuce @ Feb 1st 2008 1:21AM]

Looks like someone has been watching a little too much zeitgeistmovie . com,

I remember them talking about the "new face of terror" about osama in January or February of 2001. 8 months later...

[Andrew @ Feb 1st 2008 1:40AM]

HAHA The Rock...

It took me a sec but it clicked. Damn I haven't seen that movie in forever. Now I am off to watch it, thanks to my favorite rumour mill!

[0BL1V10N @ Feb 1st 2008 1:43AM]

"Honey? Uh... You wanna know who really killed JFK?"

[oshean @ Feb 1st 2008 2:50AM]

Do you mean: Michael

[BillyBones @ Feb 1st 2008 6:25AM]

"We wouldn't spread rumors "

That's not what I heard!

[RobFX @ Feb 1st 2008 3:30PM]

You know that the nickname for "CNN" is in U.S. military? The "Classified News Network".

[Andrew @ Feb 1st 2008 11:58PM]

I like the reference to The Rock