CyberThreats - Foreign and Domestic

Last week I blogged about cyber-bullying and net “sabotage” with regards to political activism. This week, we discussed two other harmful uses of the internet: cyber-crime and cyber-terrorism. There are numerous examples of both in recent years. During the last presidential election, the personal email accounts of Governor Sarah Palin were hacked by a college student in Tennessee. The student sought information about Palin that would be harm her public image before the election. He posted several pictures of her inbox and several emails. Next week, he will stand trial in Tennessee for his alleged cyber-crime. It will be interesting to see what sort of precedent the case may set for future instances of high-profile email hacking.

In the realm of cyber-terrorism, the Senate has recently been discussing efforts by the Pentagon to set up command center specifically to counter cyber-terrorism efforts. The ABC News article points out that computer mainframes in “neutral countries” and the computers of innocent Americans can be commandeered and used by hostile agents during a cyber attack. It is a much trickier form of warfare as opposed to the open battlefield.

Dr. Akhavan mentioned the ongoing debate among scholars and experts regarding the actual threat of cyber terrorism and its real potential to cause harm. Is it merely a nuisance or is it a substantial threat to our security? I think it’s important to note that our national power grids and other utilities conduct a great deal of their operation in cyberspace. During a time of war, having the ability to take down electrical grids and communication abilities is an essential way to disrupt and disable an opponent. With the recent rash of cyberattacks originating in China, I think it’s important to realize that we are not the only ones who recognize the power and potential threat of cyber-terrorism.

We also discussed the distinction between cyber-terrorism for the purpose of inflicting harm (attack) and obtaining information (hack). According to the Fox News article, intelligence officials have acknowledged that several large-scale attacks on government agencies have originated in China. One cyber-warfare expert, Gary Elliot said, "There was a large government military or intelligence agency behind this." Considering the depth and calibre of the attack makes it clear that only an organized, government agency could have coordinating such an attack. The challenge is in proving WHICH government and WHICH agency was behind the attack.