Welcome to Cyber War I

For years, we have been speculating about what a real "Cyber-War" would look like. We already know that War looks different in the Computer Age - smart missiles, GPS-guided troops, real-time reporting from the warzone, combatants communicating via Twitter - but we have not yet really faced a full-on war between two Cyber Superpowers, in the mold of either World War or the Cold War.

But Wikileaks is giving us a glimpse into what a real Cyber-War is like as anonymous hackers release their ire onto any and every organization which refuses to support Julian Assage's release of U.S. Diplomatic Cables. Amazon, Paypal, MasterCard, and VISA have all been attacked, and there are now rumors of pending attacks on Facebook and Twitter for taking down Wikileaks accounts. Hackers are ideologically-motivated and decentralized - literally spread around the world - so it will be difficult to locate and stop them all. And yet, law enforcement and military agencies have a vested interest in proving they can respond effectively.

In the end, Wikileaks may be remembered not for the diplomatic info which was released - which appears to be more embarrassing than damaging, for the most part - but for the real-world practice it is giving the world for a real Cyber-War. The lessons learned here - both by attackers and defenders - will allow us to harden our defenses for the future, and truly understand just how vulnerable we are.

Windows Virus targetted Iranian Nuke Facilities

It is no longer a thought experiment. The age of Cyber-Warfare has begun. The only question is, who created this thing? The USA, Israel, France, Russia? I'm betting there is a tell-all book already written, waiting for the right moment.

The malware, however, doesn’t just sabotage any frequency converter. It inventories a plant’s network and only springs to life if the plant has at least 33 frequency converter drives made by Fararo Paya in Teheran, Iran, or by the Finland-based Vacon.

Even more specifically, Stuxnet targets only frequency drives from these two companies that are running at high speeds – between 807Hz and 1210Hz. Such high speeds are used only for select applications. Symantec is careful not to say definitively that Stuxnet was targeting a nuclear facility, but notes that “frequency converter drives that output over 600Hz are regulated for export in the United States by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission as they can be used for uranium enrichment.”

Anatomy of a Cyber Attack

On April 27 a cyber attack was launched against Estonia that lasted approximately two weeks. The attack targeted government, banks, and newspapers. Wired has up an excellent, though long, article about what went on and how Estonia defended itself. With the heavy reliance on internet for global commerce and communication, we need to figure out how to both defend from such an attack as well as what that means in our current alliances. Does a cyber attack on one of our allies mean we need to go to war electronically? What about with traditional military?