Cyber wars: The US prepares for the future
Despite huge US investment in the field of cyber security and the recent issue of guidelines for cyber engagement, experts believe government efforts are inadequate and leave the country exposed.
5 min read
The cyber attack in November cost Sony hundreds of millions of dollars [AFP]
The hacking of Sony Pictures Entertainment earlier this month, which the United States has accused North Korea of carrying out, has shed new light on the dangers of cyber war.
US national security and defence analysts have warned of the growing threat of cyber-attacks and the possibility of a "cyber Pearl Harbor", the Japanese attack on a US military base in Hawaii that brought the US into World War II.
On 24 November, Sony's computers were hacked ahead of the release of the movie The Interview on Christmas Day. The film is a satirical comedy about two journalists recruited by the CIA to assassinate North Korean President Kim Jong-un when they go to interview him. North Korea reacted angrily to the film whenit was announced last summer, calling it a declaration of war by the US.
The hackers gained access to thousands of electronic files with employee details including contracts and salaries, and to previously unreleased films. The attack cost the company hundred of millions of dollars. Sony subsequently cancelled the release of The Interview after hackers also threatened action against theatres showing the film (although this decision was reversed and it was screened in a limited number of cinemas on Christmas Day).
The film was also released online and it has become Sony’s most downloaded film ever, making $15 million in the first four days after its initial release.
Battlefield of the future
The incident served to bring to public attention what intelligence analysts have been warning about for some time.
Former members of the committee charged with investigating the 11 September 2001 attacks, issued a report last July detailing the threat of cyber-attacks to the US. The report was based on interviews with current and former members of the US intelligence services, and concluded that cyber-attacks pose "a growing threat if the government does not take them seriously". The report described cyberspace as "the battlefield of the future".
The US is clearly aware of the threat of cyber-attacks. In 2012, former Secretary of Defence Leon Panetta warned of cyber-attacks against computer systems controlling chemical, water or electric facilities or transport systems. According to Panetta, specialist authorities "know of specific instances where intruders have successfully gained access to these control systems." He explained that if they were successful the attackers could derail passenger trains, contaminate water supplies or shut down electrical grids, causing panic, destruction and even loss of life.
As a result of this threat, which the Director of National Intelligence has described as "the greatest threat to our national security", the Obama administration has requested a 20 percent increase in the 2014 budget.
However, despite huge government investments in the field of cyber security and the recent issue of guidelines for cyber engagement, experts believe government efforts are inadequate and leave the country exposed to cyber-attacks. Experts also believe the threat is heightened by a lack of unity in security agencies' efforts to address cyber security issues, and warn that the internet is developing at a faster rate than security.
Examples of effective cyber-attacks
Experts give many example of effective cyber-attacks. The largest and most effective to date are thought to be those launched by the US and Israel against the Natanz nuclear facility in Iran in 2010. The Stuxnet virus used in the attack reportedly ruined almost a fifth of Iran’s nuclear centrifuges.
The most successful cyber attack on US soil before the Sony Pictures hack was in spring 2013, when a group calling themselves "The Syrian Electronic Army" hacked into the Twitter account of the Associated Press news agency and posted a tweet about an explosion in the White House. The tweet caused panic amongst traders and the Dow Jones fell 140 points, erasing $136 billion in equity market value.
"The war of the future"
Although the US has not experienced a catastrophic cyber-attack to date, it does not mean it could not happen. Experts believe China and Russia already have the necessary technology to carry out devastating cyber-attacks against the US, but have not used it for two reasons: it could start a third world war; and the US is the most technologically advanced country in the world and could retaliate if attacked. Therefore, advanced technology is currently being used as a deterrent, in a similar way to the nuclear deterrent in the Cold War. However, some warn that this will not be enough if tensions escalate to the point of open conflict between the US and China or the US and Russia.
The deterrent factor is also useless against non-state actors. According to US intelligence projections, terrorist groups are developing their electronic abilities, with some of their members coming from Europe and the US potentially experts in this field.
Cyber-attacks seem to be developing into the weapon of the future. The US Congress has responded, for example, by forming a special committee to investigate measures to protect against Chinese vandalism to US infrastructure. According to US security and defence consultants, China has set up specialist cyber warfare units in its armed forces. Furthermore, this month US officials accused China of electronically stealing the designs of the F-35 fighter jet from Lockheed Martin, the US weapons manufacturer, to build its J-31.
The Sony Pictures hack, it seems, is just harbinger of the new danger we are all facing.
This is an edited translation from our Arabic edition.
US national security and defence analysts have warned of the growing threat of cyber-attacks and the possibility of a "cyber Pearl Harbor", the Japanese attack on a US military base in Hawaii that brought the US into World War II.
 |
If successful, cyber attackers could derail passenger trains, contaminate water supplies or shut down electrical grids. |
The hackers gained access to thousands of electronic files with employee details including contracts and salaries, and to previously unreleased films. The attack cost the company hundred of millions of dollars. Sony subsequently cancelled the release of The Interview after hackers also threatened action against theatres showing the film (although this decision was reversed and it was screened in a limited number of cinemas on Christmas Day).
The film was also released online and it has become Sony’s most downloaded film ever, making $15 million in the first four days after its initial release.
Battlefield of the future
The incident served to bring to public attention what intelligence analysts have been warning about for some time.
Former members of the committee charged with investigating the 11 September 2001 attacks, issued a report last July detailing the threat of cyber-attacks to the US. The report was based on interviews with current and former members of the US intelligence services, and concluded that cyber-attacks pose "a growing threat if the government does not take them seriously". The report described cyberspace as "the battlefield of the future".
The US is clearly aware of the threat of cyber-attacks. In 2012, former Secretary of Defence Leon Panetta warned of cyber-attacks against computer systems controlling chemical, water or electric facilities or transport systems. According to Panetta, specialist authorities "know of specific instances where intruders have successfully gained access to these control systems." He explained that if they were successful the attackers could derail passenger trains, contaminate water supplies or shut down electrical grids, causing panic, destruction and even loss of life.
As a result of this threat, which the Director of National Intelligence has described as "the greatest threat to our national security", the Obama administration has requested a 20 percent increase in the 2014 budget.
However, despite huge government investments in the field of cyber security and the recent issue of guidelines for cyber engagement, experts believe government efforts are inadequate and leave the country exposed to cyber-attacks. Experts also believe the threat is heightened by a lack of unity in security agencies' efforts to address cyber security issues, and warn that the internet is developing at a faster rate than security.
Examples of effective cyber-attacks
Experts give many example of effective cyber-attacks. The largest and most effective to date are thought to be those launched by the US and Israel against the Natanz nuclear facility in Iran in 2010. The Stuxnet virus used in the attack reportedly ruined almost a fifth of Iran’s nuclear centrifuges.
The most successful cyber attack on US soil before the Sony Pictures hack was in spring 2013, when a group calling themselves "The Syrian Electronic Army" hacked into the Twitter account of the Associated Press news agency and posted a tweet about an explosion in the White House. The tweet caused panic amongst traders and the Dow Jones fell 140 points, erasing $136 billion in equity market value.
"The war of the future"
Although the US has not experienced a catastrophic cyber-attack to date, it does not mean it could not happen. Experts believe China and Russia already have the necessary technology to carry out devastating cyber-attacks against the US, but have not used it for two reasons: it could start a third world war; and the US is the most technologically advanced country in the world and could retaliate if attacked. Therefore, advanced technology is currently being used as a deterrent, in a similar way to the nuclear deterrent in the Cold War. However, some warn that this will not be enough if tensions escalate to the point of open conflict between the US and China or the US and Russia.
The deterrent factor is also useless against non-state actors. According to US intelligence projections, terrorist groups are developing their electronic abilities, with some of their members coming from Europe and the US potentially experts in this field.
Cyber-attacks seem to be developing into the weapon of the future. The US Congress has responded, for example, by forming a special committee to investigate measures to protect against Chinese vandalism to US infrastructure. According to US security and defence consultants, China has set up specialist cyber warfare units in its armed forces. Furthermore, this month US officials accused China of electronically stealing the designs of the F-35 fighter jet from Lockheed Martin, the US weapons manufacturer, to build its J-31.
The Sony Pictures hack, it seems, is just harbinger of the new danger we are all facing.
This is an edited translation from our Arabic edition.
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