Global Media News

Conventional war backed by Cyber war

With the advancing computer technology, and the computer becoming an essential part of life, most of the data that a person, company or a government has would be on the computer. Does someone hack those computers, leaving a worm in the system that not only destroys all the data, but steals it, the damage could be irreversible. This is a relatively new method that criminals, companies and countries around the world are using as a source of attack on the others' systems. This kind of attack is sneakier and relatively unpredictable, hardly identifiable, and hence is hard to be reversed once it occurs.An example is the Iranian Nuclear reactor attacked using the Stuxnet virous, months elapsed before the Iranian authorities discovered the attack and responded. Some experts say that the cyber attacks on US systems in future can be predicted as equivalent to many hurricanes.

 

Already, these attacks on US security systems are picking up the storms at political scenario, just like former Alaska Governer, Sara Palin, who is preparing for 2012 elections herself, pointed a finger at Obama administration today saying : "The latest WikiLeaks is Obama's fault."

Another example is the Korean war going on right now, that was backed by cyber war on behalf of North Koreans against the Computer Savvy South Koreans. The sophisticated cyber attacks against the South Koreans changed into the conventional war more recently, while North Korea claims that it was started by South Korea. Although there are many other factors that cooked up this attack, but another form of war that backed up this one has been the cyber war that North Korea has been engaged in against South Korea.

British authorities are also accordingly shaping up their security systems, focusing now more on the cyber attacks rather than the military (although these are not phased out either). They say that AlQaeda being dealt through military might have weekened apparently, but in real terms, they have actually diversified and are focusing on 'Softer targets' (cyber war) now.

The security officials of USA claim that there are more than 100 countries involved in attacking America's systems.

Cyber Terrorism- A Real Threat

If you've turned on the news within the past few weeks, you heard about rising tensions in the Korean peninsula. North Korea decided to send a few missiles over to South Korea because of off-shore military training drills that South Korea was partaking in. As a result, South Korea retaliated and although everything has been quiet, tensions are really on the rise.

Now unfortunately, the potential for war is present and if the two nations were to go to war, the United States may have to assist South Korea seeing as we are defenders of freedom and all of that. But what if every move we made, North Korea was ready for it? What if every corner we turned and every attack we planned, North Korea was two steps ahead of us? Well, this may be an unfortunate reality.

In December of 2009, South Korea's military began investigating a cyber attack in which North Korean hackers may have stole secret military plans of the South Koreans and the US in the event of war in the region. In an article posted  by The Guardian, it seems the information may have found its way into hostile hands after a South Korean officer used an unsecured USB drive to download the information.

A South Korean Newspaper reported that the stolen documents contained troop deployments, North Korean targets, amphibious landing sites, and also how to establish a post-war occupation.  Now obviously the plans have  changed if North Korea did get their hands on this information, but it just goes to show that cyber war is a real threat. If North Korean hackers were able to obtain such an important document, who knows what a more technological competent nation could do.

 

 

Cyber war and its revenges

 

    Since the internet is so popular today, cyber war plays a huge role in society.  Cyber war enables people to communicate and fight online rather than face to face.  I think this is a huge deal because now people aren't getting physical anymore. It is easier for some people to say things online than face to face.  Even though that sounds pathetic, it is true.  I know for me that it is easier for me to text someone something that I feel than go up to their face and tell them.  That is the problem with our society today.  No one knows how to communicate anymore.  Cyber warfare is increasing in our community today.  Smith states that, "With an increasing global reliance on technology for everything from managing national electrical grids to ordering supplies for troops, cyberwar is a method of attack which many nations are vulnerable to." Cyber war may bring negative affects to many nations.  

    April 1st, 2001 an American Jet collided with a Chinese plane over South Chine sea which started the first major issue for George W. Bush in his first term.  The Chinese piolit was killed but the Americans survived.  The next years, China was trying to plan a revenge.  The NewYorker article by Hersh states that, "In May, after years of planning, the U.S. Cyber Command was officially activated, and took operational control of disparate cyber-security and attack units that had been scattered among the four military services. Its commander, Army General Keith Alexander, a career intelligence officer, has made it clear that he wants more access to e-mail, social networks, and the Internet to protect America and fight in what he sees as a new warfare domain cyberspace."

    The more access you have to online the more things you can find out.  The internet plays a huge role in society today.  A lot of plots and revenges can be determined with just a couple clicks of the internet.  It is crazy how much one devise could do. 

WikiLeaks: A National Threat

In recent years advancement's in technology have brought upon a new threat to our nation as well as others across the globe.  Cyber Warfare is a new form of war that threatens our National Security.  Recently this topic of Cyber Warfare has headlined the news with the site "Wikileaks" a website that has been anonymously revealing top secret U.S documents.

According to theHill.com, "The documents, published by WikiLeaks, included unvarnished opinions of foreign leaders and sensitive information about foreign policy, including revelations that Arab nations in the Middle East have expressed deep concerns to the U.S. about Iran becoming a nuclear power."

The information recently release does not seem threatening, however it does breach national security and has been damaging in the past.  An article on Foxnews.com, one soldier was being charged with leaking video footage of an apache helicopter which left 11 dead in 2007.  The video and other information leaked could have "endangered innocent people or confidential informants."

CBS news  reports that the United States Attorney General and Federal Government are looking for ways to convict Wikileaks owner, Julian Assange with espionage.  This form of cyber war is a national threat to our society and national security.  The United States must take action in preventing such information from reaching the general public.  

Military Training for Cyber War

Many are worried about going into a cyber war and what will happen. The military have using Simulator Systems to  design and develop training so they are ready and know what to do just in case there in that situation. In the article CYBERWAR Military Simulators it says that cyber war simulators make available for all levels of synthetic training. CYBERWAR simulators is an effective option to training and force preparation methods so they are able to be ready. It allows militaries to be trained and preserve the skills they learned. The solider are able to create the skills they need to fight cyber enemies and build up resourceful answers to the attacks. The only way to understand the performance, security, and stability, the resiliency, is to depict every element of them to the real-world situation created by a cyber range. Cyber ranges are an absolute obligation both for preparation cyber warriors and for hardening serious infrastructures. They ensure that cyber warriors have the ability to restore, understand as well as acting upon global threats.

Cyber Warfare: US Military Gets Ready To Knock The World Offline

Stuxnet and the Nuclear World

Experts dissecting the computer worm    suspected of being aimed at Iran’s nuclear program have determined that it was precisely calibrated in a way that could send nuclear centrifuges wildly out of control.

Their conclusion, while not definitive begins to clear some of the fog around the Stuxnet worm, a malicious program detected earlier this year in computers, primarily in Iran, but also in India, Indonesia and other countries.

Computer analysts say Stuxnet does its damage by making quick changes in the rotational speed of motors, shifting them rapidly up and down. According to the nuclear analysts, these fluctuations are a recipe for disaster among the thousands of centrifuges spinning in Iran to enrich uranium, which can fuel reactors or bombs.

In a spooky flourish, the worm ends the attack with a command to restore the currents to the perfect operating frequency for the centrifuges - which by that time would presumably be destroyed.

One of the most sospisticated pieces of malware ever detected was probably targeting "high value" infrastrucure in Iran, experts have told the BBC.

United States- Fight Against Cyber War

The boom of technology in recent years has brought upon a new threat to our economy, Cyber Warfare.  A publication on www.rand.org describes cyber wars as, "Conducting military operations according to information-related principles. It means disrupting or destroying information and communications systems."

This new type of warfare has only become relevant in recent years.  It is an issue that our government is yet to find a definitive answer too.  According to Nextgov.com, "A former cybersecurity official is warning that the nation would be unable to defend itself against a cyberwar that could knock out transportation systems and the power grid."

Nextgov.com makes reference to the book "Cyber Wars" which explains how the United States government has the capabilities to black out countries.  The only downside to this capability is our lack of ability to defend such an event.  

Our technology has positively reached a new barrier for better or for worse.  If a defensive strategy is not developed in the near future, then perhaps the next war we fight will not be on land, rather through a cyber platform.

Cyberwar Games

In October 2010 the Department of Homeland Security convened with officials from across the government and private industry for its cyberstorm exercises called cyberstorm 3. That meaning there was two before this one in 2006 and the other in 2008. Cyberstorm 3 is a three day simulation that tests the nations resilience and ability to respond to a major attack of US digital infrastructure.

In an article by on nextgov.com Jill Aitoro writes that although there are many objectives one major one is to harmonize the various alert level systems used both in government and the private sector. The test will likely target control systems that support the countries most critical infrastructure . Robert Dix Vice President of Government affairs and digital infrastructure protection at juniper networks said "Department of Homeland Security will call upon specialists to develop the cyber attacks". This pretty much means they are gonna put a bunch of hackers on the payroll to create a doomsday scenario.

Internet Trickery: What is Advanced-fee Fraud?

 

        Advanced-fee fraud or Nigerian 419 fraud costs the American and British Governments billions in lost revenues and taxes.  But, first what is advanced-fee fraud and others like it?

Advanced-fee fraud or according to the Nigerian financial code 419 are a forms of a confidence tricks that are used to extort non-reportable money from foreigners, in the United States and Great Britain and other countries. This type of Fraud uses both, Email and telephone to contact victims to tell them that they were "chosen" for you by an official from the bank of Nigeria to see if they want to make possibly millions in money, that would be other wised lost.

    People get enticed by the fact that they could make millions if they first donate money to pay either corrupt officials or surcharges. But in reality the person is getting scammed out of hundreds or thousands of dollars over the duration of many months, without anything to show for it.

But you will still have your life at least, because in many cases foreigners go to Nigeria or other countries to claim the fraudulent money and end up being murdered.

    The best way to avoid scams is to be aware of Emails and other solicitious calls, that are from unknown senders or callers.

PBS Documentary on Cyberwar

Here is a PBS Frontline documentary on Cyberwar, it is a bit dated but still a good introduction to the topic.