On April 27, 2007 cyber-attacks began crippling key infrastructures of banks, ministries, and newspapers. These attacks took place, in part, because of a statue. This statue is not just a two-meter tall man holding a helmet; this individual represents and symbolizes the lives lost in the Second World War. The statue has been under a lot of speculation and has torn the population of the country in half. Some believe the status is a symbol of Soviet, formerly Nazi, while some see this statue as symbol of Soviet victory over the Nazis and Russian claims Estonia. When the government decided to relocate the statue to Estonia’s capital, the worst riots the country has ever seen took place and this started vicious cyber-attacks (Jenik). One may ask if these attacks could be considered an act of war or just an occurrence that happened because the lack of security Estonia’s internet has.
First it is important to define what war is. War is defined by Clausewitz as: the use of force to achieve policy, hostile feelings and hostile intentions, an act of violence to compel others to submit your will, and sustained, organized, and collective violence (Forster). We can look at each of these characteristics individually to see if this case fits the definition of war. Since this case took place on the internet, however, we need to change the characteristics of war to cyber war. The characteristics of cyber war are: multiple entry points allow agility, anonymity, fast 15 minutes to breakdown society, and possible uses (Forster). While looking at the characteristics of cyber war it seems like this case fits this category of war.
In order to have cyber war the first characteristic is multiple entry points. This case there was multiple entry points; ...
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At this juncture, it may be somewhat difficult to accept the proposition that a threat to the telecommunications grid, both wired and wireless, in the United States could potentially be subject to a catastrophic cyber attack. After careful research on the subject, it appears the potentiality of an event of such magnitude, which either disrupts one or the other grids for a long period or destroys either, is both theoretically and realistically impossible. It may be that proponents—those who advance such theories—equate such “doomsday” scenarios as if a cyber attack would or could be of the same magnitude as a conventional or nuclear military strike. Terms such as “cyber Pearl Harbor,” “cyber 9/11” and “cyber Vietnam” have been used to describes potential catastrophic cyber attacks and yet, “Though many have posited notions on what a ‘real’ cyber war would be like, we lack the understanding of how such conflicts will be conducted and evolve.” (Rattray & Healey, 2010, p. 77). Yet, the U.S. government continues to focus on such events, as if the plausibility of small-scale cyber attacks were not as pressing.
What is cyber warfare? Cyber warfare is the infiltration of a nation’s computers or networks by another nation or organization with the intention of espionage or causing damage
Terrorism represents a continuing threat to the United States. It is the most significant threat to our national security. Terrorist attacks have definitely left many concerns about the possibilities of future incidents of terrorism in the United States. Since the events of September 11, 2011, Americans and much of the world are afraid. Americans are at war with terrorism and no longer feel comfortable. A part of this unease feeling has to do with cyber terrorism.
Petallides, C. J. (2012). "Cyber Terrorism and IR Theory: Realism, Liberalism, and Constructivism in the New Security Threat." Student Pulse, Vol 4, No 3 Accessed online http://www.studentpulse.com/a?id=627> on 12/03/14
In this book Sterling discusses three cyberspace subcultures known as the hacker underworld, the realm of the cyber cops, and the idealistic culture for the cyber civil libertarians. At the beginning of the story Sterling starts out with discussing the birth of cyberspace and how it came about. The Hacker Crackdown informs the readers of the issues surrounding computer crime and the people on all sides of those problems. Sterling gives a brief summary of what cyberspace meant back then and how it impacted society, and he investigates the past, present and future of computer crimes. For instance he explains how the invention of the telephone led to a world that people were scared of because the telephone was something that was able to let people talk to one another without actually being in the same area. People thought that it was so strange and so different because they didn’t understand all of the information behind it. Back then people thought of the telephone as a tool that allowed others to talk to them in a way that was so personal yet impersonal. Sterling then goes on to explain how “phone phreaks” played such an important part in relating the telephones to computer crimes and how they were so closely related back then.
President Obama has realized the seriousness of the upcoming threats and turned the government focus more toward defending the information and communications infrastructure and In May 2009, he issued a request from top to bottom review of the current situation. The report titled the Cyberspace Policy Review includes strategy, policy, and standards regarding the security of and operations in cyberspace. According the white house’s cybersecurity foreign policy, the Cyberspace Policy Review highlighted two objectives and ten near-term actions to support the cybersecurity strategy.
National and International Security is a sum of the actions taken by countries and other organizations that can guarantee the safety and well being of their population. It is vital for a nation to pre-emptively discover what issues could affect their security, and take action to prevent any detrimental or harmful events from happening. With the development of technology and the transition into a more technologically savvy society, cyber security has become one of the most prevalent and important economic and national security issues that the United States will come to face.
The term “cyber terrorism” refers to the use of the Internet as a medium in which an attack can be launched such as hacking into electrical grids, security systems, and vital information networks. Over the past four decades, cyber terrorists have been using the Internet as an advanced communication tool in which to quickly spread and organize their members and resources. For instance, by using the instantaneous spread of information provided by the Internet, several terrorist’s groups have been able to quickly share information, coordinate attacks, spread propaganda, raise funds, and find new recruits for their cause. Instantaneous and unpredictable, the technological advantages these terrorists have obtained from using the Internet includes
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Criminals take advantage of weak cybersecurity measures in order to perform criminal acts and warfare over the Internet.
Since the beginning of time, mankind has waged war against each other. Over the years warfare has evolved, from fighting with sticks and stones to using gunpowder and launching missiles. The newest, and possibly most destructive, type of warfare is cyber warfare. Cyber warfare has the possibility to be more devastating than nuclear warfare.
As a patriot of this great nation, what has been presented is of extreme if not grave concern. The challenges of cyberculture to our nation’s security have been revealed . To what extent our security has been breached is a matter of speculation but be informed that these breaches must be met with complete counter active success - failure to do so is not an option.
It is asserted in an article the battlefield of cyber space: the inevitable new military branch-the cyber force by Natasha Solce. In this article she has analyzed cyberspace as future battlefield she stressed on the need of plans which include amendments in constitution, establishing a cyber-force and strictked security measures to tackle cyber terrorism. She points out different events which held only because of the mismanagement by security institutions. She investigated that 8th US Air force was designed as the most modern operational force against the cyber terrorist. She concludes that terrorist may instigate more vulnerable attacks in future if they are not dealt with priority (Solce, 2008).