Today’s NYT, on Iran’s growing cyber capabilities:

The targets have included several American oil, gas and electricity companies, which government officials have refused to identify. The goal is not espionage, they say, but sabotage. Government officials describe the attacks as probes looking for ways to seize control of critical processing systems.

And on the larger picture:

The new attacks, officials say, were devised to destroy data and manipulate the machinery that operates critical control systems, like oil pipelines. One official described them as “probes that suggest someone is looking at how to take control of these systems.”

Did people in the Administration seriously think the Iranians would be content to just be our cyber punching bag? The Iranians are preparing for war with us since it’s clear we’ve been preparing for the same against them for a long time now. Both countries are well on their way to making it a self-fulfilling prophecy.