Cyber Conflict Definition
Cyber conflict may be defined simply as conflict in cyberspace. But for that definition to be of much use, a definition of cyberspace is required, and that is not an easy task. The term cyberspace was first used by William Gibson in his 1984 book "Neuromancer," and it has been broadly adopted in popular usage and in academia.
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Definitions of cyberspace
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There have been numerous attempts to comprehensively define cyberspace, but the results are awkward and the efforts to improve upon them are quickly outpaced by the rapidly evolving nature of cyberspace. Sam Liles, associate professor of computer information technology at Purdue University Calumet and a widely recognized expert on cyber warfare, offers a more flexible definition to reflect the mutable nature of the term: "Cyberspace is the terrain of technology mediated communication."
Cyberspace
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Cyberspace is not just the Internet or the World Wide Web, but rather the entire communications infrastructure that underlies modern technological society. Cyberspace consists of but is not limited to communication systems, including POTS---plain old telephone system; data storage systems; entertainment systems, including television and radio; and sensor, telemetry and control systems, including everything from traffic grids to power plants.
Taken together, all of these systems literally represent the operational foundations of modern society and a threat to these systems is a threat to the functioning of society as a whole.
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Cyber Conflict Today
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Cyber conflict occurs across the world on a limited basis every day. Every major government has resources devoted to "cyber war" and defensive countermeasures, and there are also numerous affiliations of private individuals who work---some legally and some illegally---in concert as hackers for various purposes of cyber conflict.
Recent tension between Estonia and Russia suggests cyber conflict. Russia became upset when Estonia, a former Soviet satellite state, removed a monument to fallen Russian soldiers in the capital of Talinn. Estonian government computer systems soon began suffering isolated Internet outages due to direct denial of service---or DDOS---attacks. The attacks increased over several days to include banks and Estonian Internet service providers and significantly disrupted Estonian government and banking operations. The attacks ceased after three weeks or so, and a subsequent investigation pointed to Russian involvement.
Future Cyber Conflict
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The development of cyber conflict in the future is a hotly debated issue. There is no question that cyber conflicts are growing and that the trend will continue. Unknown is what form the conflicts will take, who the main players will be, and what security precautions will be required to deal them.
Many experts believe government-based cyber conflict resources will expand and that many smaller private groups---from politically motivated terrorist organizations to gangs---will remain a significant threat to cyber security.
Lack of International Policy
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Only major industrialized countries have established and routinely enforce policies and laws regarding hacking and cyber attacks. The absence of international policy makes investigation of cyber crimes difficult.
A series of DDOS attacks were leveled at South Korean and U.S. military and civilian targets in July 2009, including the NASDAQ and New York Stock exchanges. As James A. Lewis points out in his CSIS White Paper, these attacks, while problematic and disruptive, were not full-scale cyber attacks and were based on known methods. What little evidence there was pointed to North Korean and Chinese sources, but the trail of course stops cold there making verifiable attribution of the attacks almost impossible.
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References
- Photo Credit public computers image by araraadt from Fotolia.com
