Washington â€" Cyber-attacks are no longer limited to student hoaxes. Computer networks and government and private Web sites around the world are increasingly being disrupted by organized criminals, intelligence adversaries and commercial spies.
(Media-Newswire.com) - Washington — Cyber-attacks are no longer limited to student hoaxes. Computer networks and government and private Web sites around the world are increasingly being disrupted by organized criminals, intelligence adversaries and commercial spies.
The new breed of hackers puts pressure on many countries’ defense and security agencies. But cooperation among allies promises better protection in cyberspace.
U.S. Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair says today’s computer interconnectivity paves the way for cyber-attacks to disrupt critical infrastructure including electrical power grids, oil pipelines and telecommunications. All countries are vulnerable, in his view, and successful attacks will be costly to industry and governments as targets range from air-traffic-control networks to stock markets.
The U.S. Defense Department has been a particularly tempting target for computer attacks from nations, nonstate entities and individuals. In 2006, the Pentagon reported 6 million attempted intrusions; by 2008 the number had jumped to 360 million.
Cyber-attackers operate behind a veil of anonymity: They comprise the individual seeking to show off computer prowess, a terrorist network seeking funds, a criminal family looking to expand profits, “hacktivists” making political points, a class of computer science students assigned to break into networks, and foreign intelligence agencies intent on gathering secrets.
Defense contractor Northrop Grumman President Linda Mills said cyber-attackers aren’t always neatly categorized and often “blend and cooperate with each other.”
According to the Heritage Foundation’s Peter Brookes, the threat has evolved from “the work of curious hackers to premeditated government-sponsored operations that embrace a variety of security-related purposes.”
A NEW KIND OF WAR?
China and Russia are busy developing cadres of “cyberspace warriors,” according to Lieutenant General Keith Alexander, who heads the U.S. National Security Agency. China, according to Alexander, who will head the Pentagon’s new unified Cyber Command, has been aggressive in cyberspace and has established cyberspace battalions and regiments. The Chinese were reportedly behind a 2007 wave of attacks against Pentagon networks, according to the Defense Department’s 2008 report to Congress on China’s military power.
Blair, the intelligence director, said China has been the origin of the largest number of attacks against U.S. organizations, but that nonstate entities like the terrorist groups al-Qaida, Hamas and Hezbollah have expressed the desire to target U.S. Web sites.
INTERNATIONAL DEFENSE AGAINST HACKERS
The international community had a serious wake-up call when Estonia’s government, banking and media Web sites were attacked in 2007. The trouble began after the Estonian government moved a statue honoring the sacrifice by Soviet soldiers who liberated the country from Nazi domination. ( The statue was moved to a less prominent location, sparking offense among Russians. ) Denial-of-service attacks — allegedly from Russia — soon began shutting down the Web sites of the Estonian ministries of Foreign Affairs and Justice, and hackers defaced the prime minister’s Reform Party Web site.
The United States and NATO dispatched computer teams to Estonia as cyber-attacks continued for weeks. Hackers circulated “how-to instructions” through online Russian chat rooms, and press reports estimate that 100,000 computers were used in the attacks. NATO then created a Cooperative Cyber Defense Center in Estonia that opened for business in May 2008.
NATO Assistant Secretary-General Peter Flory said the cyber-attacks against Estonia served “as an incentive to intensify and refocus” alliance work on cybersecurity issues.
In February 2009, NATO members gathered for the alliance’s 60th anniversary. Representatives discussed the need to address future cyber-attacks. At the summit’s conclusion, leaders released the 2009 Strasbourg-Kehl Summit Declaration that highlights the need to strengthen alliance communication and information systems against this threat. NATO is looking to partner with relevant international organizations.
Chris McIlroy, an official with SRA International Inc., a software and consulting firm, said the European Union “must improve the existing legal frameworks designed to bring cyber-attackers to justice.”
He advocates greater EU involvement with the Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams ( FIRST ), an international organization that has been around for two decades and now has 200 members from 42 countries. Another, newer organization fostering international collaboration to address cyberthreats is the International Watch and Warning Network with participation by 15 nations.
Ann Beauchesne, a U.S. Chamber of Commerce vice president, wrote to the White House in March 2009 — just before President Obama announced that he would appoint a cybersecurity coordinator — advocating a global cybersecurity approach, including greater information sharing among nations and better international cooperation to prosecute cybercrime.
Center for Strategic and International Studies ( CSIS ) cybersecurity specialist James Lewis said Australia, France, Japan, Singapore and the United Kingdom have been at the forefront of cooperative efforts to protect nations’ computer networks and Web sites.
But according to Melissa Hathaway, who led a recent White House cyberspace policy review, the United States needs to partner with new allies. Many more nations, she said, need to be confident that the networks supporting their national security and economic prosperity are resilient and safe. Her review advocates U.S. assistance to the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, both of which had computer systems that suffered hacker attacks in 2008.
The White House will promote cybersecurity initiatives via the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the Organization of American States and the Asia-Pacific Forum.
For more information about U.S. policy, see “Working With the UN to Improve Cybersecurity” and “President Obama’s Remarks on Securing U.S. Cyber Infrastructure.”
The 2009 report, “Securing Cyberspace for the 44th Presidency,” ( PDF, 1 MB ) is available on the CSIS Web site.
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This story was released on 2009-10-05. Please make sure to visit the official company or organization web site to learn more about the original release date. See our disclaimer for additional information.