Battling in Cyberspace

We might just as well get used to it. Now with us include cybercrime, cyberterrorism, and cyberwarfare, and they will be around for a long time. With the advent of the computer, networks, and the Internet, regular crime has transitioned into cybercrime, ordinary terrorism now includes cyberterrorism, and conventional warfare now incorporates cyberwarfare.

Cybercrime, Cyberterrorism, and Cyberwarfare in Perspective

Cybercrime is with us on a daily basis (24 hours a day and 7 days a week). Furthermore, it will continue on as long as we use computers, networks, phones, videos, webcams, emails, and the Internet. However, the most deadly one of the three is cyberwarfare. Cyberwarfare is not being conducted against us by individual, civilian hackers or by terrorist organizations but is being conducted by nation states in an organized, methodical manner.

The United States must be prepared to conduct cyberwarfare. Indeed, we must be ready to conduct offensive cyberwarfare instead of just defensive cyberwarfare. Additionally, we must be prepared for massive cyber retaliation should our entire nation be massively attacked by China, Russia, North Korea, Iran, or any other nation that would do us harm. Massive Retaliation was a national strategy that ended with the close of the Cold War and the demise of the Soviet Union. However, it should be revived for cyberwarfare, or we may see the demise of the United States. We must not allow that outcome to happen.

Domestic Efforts to Combat Cyberterrorism

It is only a matter of time before cyberterrorists perpetrate an attack on a city or county government. All manmade and natural disasters are local events with local units being the first to respond and the last to leave. However, the state government must be the driving force behind the efforts of defining what needs to be done, establishing a coordinated statewide strategy, and performing a comprehensive threat assessment. Sharing information to protect systems is an important foundation for ensuring governmental continuity. Partnering is a key mechanism in creating a closer working relationship among, national, state, and local governments. If these things are done, we would have a much more effective effort in combating cyberterrorism at the state and local governmental levels.

Cyberterrorist threats are on the rise. The U.S. government is not keeping close surveillance on the cyberterrorism threat. Consequently, in the current threat environment, the private sector remains the first line of defense for its own facilities. Furthermore, since the 9/11 attacks, nationwide enterprises have increased their investments in security to meet the demands of the new threat environment. Hence, rather than governments and the military carrying the protection load, the burden of watching and preparing for a cyber attack on U.S. critical infrastructures (CIs) rests on the private sector. Therefore, private industry has taken a proactive approach to combat cyberterrorism, which is a good thing.

International Efforts to Combat Cyberterrorism

The United States is participating in combined international efforts to combat cyberterrorism. This approach is an important and sure way to beat cybercriminals and cyberterrorists. Other countries of the world use cyber protection measures that the United States could adopt. If the United States will do these things that we are not currently doing or are not doing well, we should do them to be more effective in fighting the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT). I believe that some of these measures could be effective applied here in the United States. If the United States will add these protective measures to our present repertoire of tools, we will be even more effective in combating cyberterrorism.

U.S. Policy to Prevent a Cyber Attack

The Electronic Communications Privacy Act does not curtail cyber attackers. Generally, companies, government agencies, and academia are inadequately prepared. We pay too little attention to security. We devote too few resources to it. Management needs to make security a priority. Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and boards of directors need to pay attention to security and make sure resources are devoted to it.

Under the principle of nullum crimen sine lege, the legal system cannot prosecute a perpetrator unless the law prohibits his/her behavior (no matter how harmful it may be). Hence, the Philippine government did not prosecute the perpetrator of the “I LOVE YOU” virus because no law existed that prohibited the release of malicious code.

It is important that companies preserve their computer-stored data for the required duration of time. Due to the ease with which perpetrators can manipulate computer data, the court could likely reject the data as evidence if a trained computer forensics specialist does not perform the search/analysis. It is important that Internet service providers (ISPs) help law enforcement to conduct joint investigations. The stakes in the “cat and mouse” game is getting higher. Spam and cybercrime are really about money. People out there are making a lot of money. To curtail cybercrimes, there must be a unified effort between government and private sector.

Effectiveness of U.S. Infrastructure Programs

Technology makes life easier and more efficient for all of us. However, computer crime threatens our commercial and personal safety. Computer forensics has become an indispensable tool for law enforcement. In the digital world, as in the physical world, the goals of law enforcement must balance with the goals of maintaining personal liberty and privacy. American criminal investigators have wrestled with these same issues for over 200 years. Currently, we lack a national framework for curricula and training development with no gold standard for professional certification.

Cybercrime is a major international challenge. We need a collective security approach to protect the global CI. The Convention on Cybercrime, which became effective in July 2004, is the first and only international treaty to deal with breaches of law over the Internet or other information networks. Policymakers and the public today see the threat of a terrorist attack on information technology (IT), or cyberterrorism, as being one of the greatest dangers to the United States. Cyber security is a community issue. By keeping our eyes open and applying effective techniques, organizations will prevent attacks and recover quickly after an attack. However, we still are not where we must be to possess effective infrastructure programs in the United States.

Critical Infrastructure Protection Program

Terrorists seek to undermine confidence in our public and private institutions and in our ability to manage the consequences of their attacks. In response, the federal government must work collaboratively and in partnership with state and local governments, with the private sector, and with local citizens. To the extent that government and private industry are believed to be doing everything within reason to protect the public from harm, the public’s confidence in its institutions will remain intact despite such attacks. We can have the best national strategy for homeland security that the most brilliant minds in Washington can devise, and yet we will fail in our endeavor if local communities do not meet the immediate challenges of a terrorist disaster (Juster, 2002).

Local governments represent the front lines of protection and the face of public services to the American people. Their core competencies must include knowledge of their communities, residents, landscapes, and existing critical services for maintaining public health, safety, and order. Communities look to local leadership to assure safety, economic opportunities, and quality of life (QOL). Public confidence, therefore, starts locally and is dependent upon how well communities plan and protect their citizens, respond to emergencies, and establish order out of chaos (Anonymous, 2003).  To this end, for example, the City of North Miami Beach Police Department, the private sector, and concerned citizens have begun an important partnership and commitment to action (Anonymous, n.d.).

Recommendations on Cyber Threats and Warfare

One thing is for sure:success in future conflicts will depend less on bombs and bullets and more on bits and bytes (Coleman, 2007).  In the end, the cyber threat is revolutionary, officials said, because it has no battle lines, the intelligence is intangible, and attacks come without warning leaving no time to prepare defenses. Education and training of computer users, not enforcement, are the most effective defense measures, officials said (Rogin, 2007).

If our enemies conduct a cyber war against us, we must be prepared to defend ourselves and also be capable of taking the offensive. The best defense is a good offense. Little is known about the precise nature of Washington’s offensive capabilities. State- or group-sponsored attacks against our information systems using computer viruses and other techniques should be considered an act of war. Tightly coupling business and industry into the cyber war defense strategy is arguably the most critical component. It represents the one area that the government has the worst track record, which must be improved. As a war-fighting domain, cyberspace favors the offense. The first battle of the next war will be fought and won in the cyberspace arena.

Strategy to Combat Cyberterrorism

There is no uniform consensus on a universal definition of the word cyberterrorism. We would be hard pressed to develop a definition that every nation in the United Nations (UN) would agree upon. So, we move forward anyway.

Frank Cilluffo, an analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC, testified to the Senate Government Affairs Committee in October 2001. He said, “Bits, bytes, bugs, and gas will never replace bullets and bombs as the terrorist weapon of choice,” However, “while [Osama] bin Laden may have his finger on the trigger, his grandson may have his finger on the mouse” (Verton, 2002).  Tomorrow’s terrorist may be able to do more damage with a keyboard than with a bomb (Weimann, 2004).

Developing effective law enforcement or national security policies to deal with cyber threats is a national priority. However, the private sector must undertake most of the responsibility for fixing weaknesses in key Internet assets. We must understand that it is impossible to eliminate all vulnerabilities. Finally, terrorism is not only a criminal activity – it is a military assault on the entire population, and it must be dealt with accordingly.

References

Anonymous (n.d.). City of North Miami Beach, Florida, Critical Infrastructure Protection Program.  The official website of the City of North Miami Beach, Florida. Retrieved from northmiamibeach.govoffice.com/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC=%7BF04CACB1-1126-4FF5-85C3-81ACF84754F9%7D.

Anonymous (2003, February). The national strategy for the physical protection of critical infrastructures and key assets. Washington, DC: The White House.

Coleman, K. (2007, November). Department of Cyber Defense: An organization whose time has come! The Technolytics Institute, 7 pp.

Juster, K. I. (2002, February 13). Homeland security and critical infrastructure assurance: The importance of community action. Remarks of the Undersecretary of Commerce for Export Administration at the conference on Critical Infrastructures: Working Together in a New World, Austin, Texas. Retrieved from www.bis.doc.gov/news/2002/communityactionimportantnhomelandsecurity.htm.

Rogin, J. (2007, February 13). Cyber officials: Chinese hackers attack ‘anything and everything.’ FCW.com. Retrieved from www.fcw.com/online/news/97658-1.html?type=pf.

Verton, D. (2002, January 7). Critical infrastructure systems face threat of cyberattacks. Computerworld, 36(2), p. 8. Retrieved May 15, 2008, from www.computerworld.com/printthis/2002/0,4814,67135,00.html.

Weimann, G. (2004, December). Cyberterrorism: How real is the threat? United States Institute of Peace Special Report No. 119. Retrieved from www.usip.org/pubs/specialreports/sr119.html.

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