Listen up , soldier ! Not every battle takes place over rugged terrain , on the open sea or even in the tune . These days , you ’ll find some of the fierce fight going on between computer networks . Rather than using hummer and bombs , the warrior in these confrontations usebits and bytes . But do n’t think that digital munition does n’t result in real world consequences . Nothing could be further from the accuracy .
Consider all the unlike systems in the United States connected to theInternet :
That ’s just the offset . guess about all the service and system that we depend upon to keep society running swimmingly . Most of them take to the woods on calculator web . Even if the net administrators segregate their computers from the rest of the net , they could be vulnerable to a cyber attack .
Cyber war is a serious care . Unlike traditional war , which requires monolithic measure of resource such as personnel , weapon and equipment , cyber warfare only take someone with the right knowledge and data processor equipment to bring havoc . The enemy could be anywhere – even within the victim nation ’s own borders . A knock-down plan of attack might only expect half a dozen hack using standardlaptopcomputers .
Another frightening face of cyber warfare is that a cyber fire can add up as part of a coordinated rape on a nation or it could just be a malicioushacker ’s mind of a joke . By the time a prey figures out the nature of the attack , it may be too late . No matter what the motive , cyber tone-beginning can cause billions of dollars in amends . And many nation are sadly unprepared to deal with cyber onslaught . With that in judgment , the question is n’t will there be a cyber-terrorism – the question is when will there be one ?
Some people might reason that the cyber-terrorism is already here . In fact , based on attacks commit daily against the United States and other nation , the first real cyber-terrorism began back in the late 1990s . Let ’s take a spirit at some illustrious " battles " in cyber warfare over the last 10 in the next section .
Cyberwars Around the World
Although theInternethas been around for a few decades , it ’s still a relatively young technology . It ’s also an extremely useful engineering science . Governments , potbelly and ordinary citizens take Internet technology very rapidly . Before recollective , entire diligence and regime services became dependent upon the cyberspace to function . The problem is that on the whole , the Internet and the systems connect to it are n’t very secure . There are many ways to exploit vulnerability and infiltrate organization . cyberspace security has n’t been able to keep up with adoption and use .
Some the great unwashed recognized the inherently unsafe nature of the cyberspace somewhat too soon on . In 1997 , the Department of Defense commissioned an experiment codenamed Eligible Receiver . While most of the item regarding Eligible Receiver stay classified , the main purpose of the utilization was to see if a group of drudge using promptly - available computers and software could penetrate the Pentagon ’s figurer systems . The results were sobering – accord to John Hamre , the lieutenant secretary of defence at the time , it took three days before anyone at the Pentagon became mindful that the reckoner system were under attack [ germ : Frontline ] .
The team of hacker gather control condition of Pentagon and national military instruction system of rules . A real attack could have caused the computer system to shut down . Even more discomforting was the thought that the attackers could access and steal information .
In fact , it seems that a real adversary handle to do just that only a year later on . In an attack that the U.S. governing call Moonlight Maze , someone deal to penetrate multiple computer system at the Pentagon , NASA and other facilities and access classified information . U.S. officials discovered the probing attacks by chance event in 2000 after go bad unnoticed for two years [ source : Frontline ] . The pilfered datum included strategic map , troop duty assignment and positions and other sensitive info . Government agents were able to trace the attacks back to Russia , but it ’s impossible to say if that was their true pedigree .
The United States is n’t always on the defense in cyber warfare . The U.S. has used cyber war strategies against Iraq and Afghanistan . During the Kosovo war , the U.S. used reckoner - base attacks to compromise the Serbian air defense organisation . The attack distorted the image the organisation generated , giving Serbian forces incorrect entropy during the aviation campaign . security measure agents are also working to infiltrate terrorist cells and monitor them remotely .
Recently , cyber warfare play a role in the difference between Russia and Georgia . Hackersattacked GeorgianWeb serverswith a serial publication ofdistributed denial of serve attacks(DDoS ) . Essentially , a DDoS involve sending one thousand thousand of pulses calledpingsto a Web server . The server becomes overwhelmed trying to respond to the pings and finally slows or even crashes . The identity of the aggressor is still unknown – it could have been anyone from Russian agents to Maffia hacker to someone who was n’t even postulate with the conflict .
The list does n’t stop there . Some mistrust that North Korea has used cyber attacks on South Korea . There are hearsay that China expend cyber approach against Taiwan . The terrorist organization Al Qaeda has even declared a cyberjihadon the U.S. In many grammatical case , evidence one country is actively using cyber attacks on another is impossible .
What does a cyberwar look like ? In the next section , we ’ll take a airless look at some of the strategy cyber warriors use .
Cyberwar Battle Strategies
While there are many different cyberwar scenario we could look into , in general you’re able to break down the strategies into two major class . Let ’s take a facial expression at each one in detail .
The first major strategy is thePearl Harbor flack , named after the surprise onslaught on the naval basis atPearl Harbor , Hawaii , in 1941 . This kind of attack involves a massive cyber assault on major computer systems . Hackerswould first infiltrate these system and then sabotage them . They might shut out down part or all of a land ’s or plan of attack water and fuel melodic line .
Another approach is to usecomputer virusesto do the cheating work . virus likeCode Red , SlammerandNimdaspread rapidly across the Internet . Code Red directed infected computers to attack the White House Web site . These viruses cause billions of dollars Charles Frederick Worth of damage as companies and political science had to repair computer systems affected by the viruses . Viruses offer cyberpunk a broken - hazard / mellow - payoff onrush because it can be unmanageable to track down the programmers who unleash them .
Pearl Harbor attacks can be frightening all on their own , but some security experts concern that enemies could align a cyber flak with a strong-arm assault . Imagine your city ’s superpower provision winkle out in an jiffy , and within moments you find out the sound of explosion lead off in the distance . Such an attack could not only cause a lot of damage , it would be a powerful psychological tactic . Some expert occupy that terrorist formation like Al Qaeda are put to work on plans that take after this strategy .
The other method acting of onrush is much more insidious but just as serious . Instead of committing a monolithic cyber violation , the opposition would infiltrate computer systems and just see and wait . This strategy imply espial and reconnaissance . The cay is to avoid sleuthing and gather as much selective information as possible . The enemy could use that information to target weak point in the victim nation ’s infrastructure .
A hacker who has managed to penetrate a organisation can also weaken that organization in a more gradual way that avoids spotting . By fine-tune lines of codification in subtle ways , the hacker can make systems less accurate and less honest over months or even twelvemonth . This foresightful - term strategy might finally lead to the system of rules becoming completely undependable or unresponsive . This method assume longer to implement than a Pearl Harbor attack but it ’s also more difficult to detect and prevent or hangout .
A hidden hacker could even insert figurer viruses into an infiltrated system . Not all viruses attack instantaneously . Some hackers build in triggers that they can spark with a manual command . Others use fourth dimension - activated gun trigger that will release a computer virus on a certain date .
How can nations defend against cyber war ? line up out in the next section .
Cyberwar Defenses
Because cyber warfare is so different from traditional warfare , you ca n’t rely on the same formula you ’d employ in a physical difference of opinion . With the veracious techniques , ahackercan make an fire practically untraceable . It ’s not hard for a skilled hacker to create an entire army ofzombie computers– machines infected with a program that allows the hacker to control the computer remotely . A individual owning one of these infect computers might not be aware of the encroachment at all . If a data processor organization comes under fire from an regular army ofzombie computing machine , it might not be possible to get the hacker ultimately responsible for .
Part of make for a cyber attack is to educate citizens around the world . The importance of computer security ca n’t be hyperbolise . A combination of the right antivirus software and a careful approach toInternetactivities can help oneself foreclose hackers from pile up the resources they need to climb an offense in the first piazza .
Security experts like Richard Clark , former cyber security measures advisor to the United States , say that part of the responsibility fall on software companies . He has said that software companies often look sharp products to market without put them through a rigorous quality control phase . In finicky , he criticizedMicrosoftfor its pattern . Since then , Microsoft arrogate it drop more time and resource making sure its products have unassailable security features [ seed : Frontline ] .
Why let go merchandise that are n’t impregnable ? The issue is n’t as all the way - cut as we might care . There ’s an economical trade-off when companies take more fourth dimension to depend into security issues before release a product . The longer the product cycle , the more money the company has to spend . That place software caller in a unmanageable view . Should they increase the price of their products , which can injure the consumer ? Should they keep the toll the same and absorb the added ontogeny costs , which hurts their investor ? Should they cut costs elsewhere by lowering remuneration , which hurts their workforce ? The reality is that an increased focus on security system will ensue in an impact on the bottom line of the business . If caller feel the risk of a security breach is low , it ’s possible that they ’ll ignore the possibility entirely .
Another thing to consider is that private companies own most of theInternet ’s infrastructure . Unless the government implements regularisation , it ’s up to these individual companies to ensure the safety of their networks . Even expert like Richard Clark have said that rule is not the right decision – he reason that it inhibit innovation and lowers the bar for surety across all industries .
Most industries and governments employ security expert who supervise their respective computer system constantly . They are responsible for detecting probes and intrusion and respond to them . Security experts like John Arquilla , an associate prof at the Naval Postgraduate School , and John Hamre , CEO and president of the Center for Strategic and International Studies , have said that a Pearl Harbor onrush would credibly not cause widespread destruction , in part because we ’ve learned to detect and respond to attacks cursorily [ source : Frontline ] . While an attack might still be successful , they say that the recovery period would be relatively short . Governments and company should still attempt to varnish any security measure holes they might have , but it ’s not likely that a massive attack could stultify major systems for a significant period of fourth dimension . Other expert are less sealed – they caution that a well - mastermind assault could take us by surprisal and pip enough system to cause widespread economical damage .
While it might not be obvious to us in our every twenty-four hours spirit , there ’s no doubt that cyber war is going on right now between res publica and factions around the existence . So is cyberwar coming ? It may already be underway .
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