Cyberwar has become a real danger (La Croix, France)

After Germany declared that she had been a large-scale cyber attacks, many countries are seeking to expand their offensive and defensive abilities in this area.

The source of cyber attacks can be aggressive countries, terrorist organizations or individual hackers

German Interior Minister Thomas de Mezieres (Thomas de Maizière) announced on August 9 about the "significant increase in attacks" on the German network telephony and the Web, and the first ones that belong to the government.

"Ministry, embassies and the administration have been victims of a large-scale pirate attack on them on their communication networks," — wrote the newspaper Handelsblatt. She appealed to ministers and senior bureaucrats with the proposal to prohibit the introduction of phones iPhone and BlackBerry, to protect the country from "severe danger."

As we all understand, now businesses and even entire countries become targets of attack, which puts in front of him to prevent, hinder or distort the operation of their information and communication networks. But first things first lock of.

What is a cyber war?

The first time the notion of cyber warfare emerged in the spring of 2007, after the information attacks on the servers of South American Embassy in Estonia. In the course of this cyber war (the first of which was clear the public) no one died, and the physical structure of the country has remained intact.

Some cyber experts at call a "weapon of mass sabotage" as opposed to weapons of mass destruction and nuclear war. "If a gang of hackers hack your information system, it is, of course, it is terrible, but still far from the threat of his own gun, which is able to erase the New-york off the face of the Earth", — the expert Roger Molander (Roger Molander).

At that directly targeted cyber attacks?

Specialists in the field of security, there are three main layers of cyberspace: physical (infrastructure, cabling, routers and switches), semantic (transmitted in cyberspace raw data that uses machine or a person) and syntactic (binds between the two is the last method of formatting the disk imaging in accordance with the standards and protocols such as, for instance TCP / IP, and which holds the entire web.) The range of such disk imaging is very wide: from conventional electric letter to the intelligence and images that are transmitted to the control station of the UAV in Iraq.

Judge Jean-Loup Samaan (Jean-Loup Samaan) distinguishes attack on semantic (theft, destruction or alteration disk imaging), syntactic (violation of flow data with viruses or other harmful programs) and physical layer (the attack on the actual infrastructure, which implies the introduction of physical means).

The development of such tools as viruses and Trojans is now more common and a cheap solution than buying missiles and artillery. Information invasion can cause real harm completely.

What are their potential targets?

The main goal — this is true of principle or strategic infrastructure (nuclear and chemical industry, financial, food, energy and sanitation system, traffic, transport networks, government, police, army) and their control and communication systems that are needed for normal daily life and the functioning of the economy.

Cyber attack on one of the Brazilian plant in November 2009 for three day or deprived dozen cities and 60 million residents of public transport, traffic lights, communications and elevator. Paralyzed or difficult work of thousands of gas stations, banks, shopping centers and industrial facilities. Communication with the general information site does all the critical infrastructure is seriously vulnerable to kiberpiratstva.

How far can stop the aggressors?

In cyberspace, there are an unlimited number of different threats as real or potential aggressors. Motivation, strategy and goals depend on whether they are non-governmental organizations (terrorists or perpetrators), aggressive countries, some crackers or their groups.

As for the militant non-governmental organization, says an expert on information technology Bvele Charles (Charles Bwele), then the "cyber attack on critical infrastructure could actually be implements of terror or revenge. If these violent acts are a country's military action, whereas for a single hacker or their group, they are crazy method to prove their technical skill. "

Real technical and technological characteristics, and price make it difficult to prepare a large-scale cyber attacks its use by terrorists, who, incidentally, do almost everything depends on cyberspace.

What security measures are taking the country?

Security of information and communication systems are now an integral part of the state defense strategies. For the military, cyberspace is the fifth sphere of warfare after land, sea, air and space. In the U.S., Barack Obama has made it one of the state values and introduced in January this year in a white house on cybersecurity coordinator position.

In May, the Pentagon did Kiberkom, a new military command for the protection of the U.S. military information networks and the development of their own offensive capabilities. His control was General Keith Alexander (Keith Alexander), the last director of the State Security Agency. Has its own special operations center in the English General Staff.

As for China, it does not lurking out their own problems in the field of information warfare, which can be found in the hosted in 2006, the snow-white book on defense policy. In the Chinese People's Army exists for this purpose a special unit within the Joint Staff. About 20 000 "hackers patriots" are working on the intelligence of China, the total number of agents that achieves 2-million people. In order to save funds managed by the People's Army doctrine of "asymmetric deterrence", which is the development of "sabotage" abilities based on the most modern technology.

By preparing for cyber war and other countries, namely, our homeland, Israel, North Korea and Iran. In addition, the coordination of efforts at the international level, especially now visible in the framework of NATO and the EU.

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