He said his firm in the past has even found shocking evidence of rootkits in control systems. And he noted that if anyone doubts cyberwar is a possibility, "we were contacted by two governments overseas -- not China -- to help them create a cyberwar campaign. They wanted SCADA capabilities.

"We're still struggling as an industry to develop secure products," he concluded.

Ellen Messmer is senior editor at Network World, an IDG publication and website, where she covers news and technology trends related to information security.

in Network World's Wide Area Network section.