Cyberwarfare

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Cyberwarfare is a hypothetical form of military conflict that takes place in cyberspace[1] and is most useful as a method of getting huge quantities of money from the US government.

Examples[edit]

The first known incidence of believably state-sponsored international cyberwarfare was in April 2007, when many Estonian organizations, including the parliament, banks, ministries, newspapers and broadcasters, saw their websites fall under a series of cyber attacks.[2]

It originated as a political dispute over the relocation of the Bronze Soldier of Tallinn, an elaborate Soviet-era grave marker. Most Estonians considered the Bronze Soldier a symbol of Soviet occupation, while Russians regarded it as a symbol of Soviet liberation and victory over Nazi Germany. When the Government of Estonia started final preparations for the relocation of the statue, disagreement over the propriety of the action led to two nights of mass protests and riots (accompanied by looting). The cyber-attacks began on April 27, 2007, lasting three weeks; some observers reckoned that the onslaught on Estonia was of a sophistication not seen before. The case has been studied extensively by military planners in many countries.

The Russian government has been accused of direct involvement in the cyberattacks against Estonia,[3][note 1] and the indirect evidence that Russia routinely conducts cyberwarfare is very strong: DDos attacks accompanied Russia's 2008 invasion of Georgia, Ukraine was the target of significant cyberattacks at the time of Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014,[5] and Russia inserted NotPetya malware into Ukraine during Russia's 2014 invasion.[6]

Another instance of cyberwarfare being used was allegedly by the United States against Iran, wherein the US issued commands to the centrifuge in an Iranian nuclear reactor to spin at speeds which caused it to break. This was repeated with the final effect of destroying roughly one fifth of Iran's nuclear centrifuges.[7]

Notes[edit]

  1. A well known Russian hacker Sp0Raw believes that the most efficient online attacks on Estonia could not have been carried out without a blessing of the Russian authorities and that the hackers apparently acted under "recommendations" from parties in higher positions.[4]

References[edit]

  1. SC Magaxine: Cyberspace and the changing nature of warfare
  2. The Guardian: Russia accused of unleashing cyberwar to disable Estonia
  3. Estonia accuses Russia of 'cyberattack' by Arthur Bright (May 17, 2007) Christian Science Monitor.
  4. Commissar of Nashi says he waged cyber attack on Estonian government sites (2007-06-02) Baltic News Service (archived from October 10, 2007).
  5. Russian military was behind ‘NotPetya’ cyberattack in Ukraine, CIA concludes by Ellen Nakashima (January 12, 2018) The Washington Post.
  6. Strategic Analysis: As Russia-Ukraine Conflict Continues, Malware Activity Rises by Kenneth Geers (May 28, 2014) FireEye.
  7. The Stuxnet Attack On Iran's Nuclear Plant Was 'Far More Dangerous' Than Previously Thought by Michael B Kelley (Nov 20, 2013, 9:58 AM) Business Insider.