US, UK Plan Cyber Strike on Foreign Hackers

US and UK law enforcement authorities are planning a preemptive strike on hackers to protect national security, reports the Guardian. The secret plans are triggered by skyrocketing computer crimes launched from China, Russia and North Korea believed to be state sponsored. The "strikeback" attacks will target hackers' computers, disrupt them, and, in some cases, block internet access, according to officials.

"This is considered to be a key activity," said a former CIA officer. "We are being penetrated and it is not in our tradition to sit back and do nothing." (More cybercrime stories.)