New tools

By Cesar Chelala
July 18, 2016
Print : Opinion

The use of cyberspace as a tool of war has changed the nature of conventional
warfare. This not only poses problems in terms of how to respond to those threats
but also how to develop agreements among countries to curtail its use.
Richard A Clarke, former counterterrorism adviser on the National Security Council
defined cyberwarfare in his book Cyber War as actions by a nation state to
penetrate another nations computers or networks for the purpose of causing
damage or disruption.
The Lipman Report, which offers insights from private sources on national security
risks, warns that several sectors of the US economy are seriously endangered,
including cyber threats to public and private facilities, banking and finance,
education and government, and other sectors which depend on computers for daily
operations.
Cyber attacks can wreck havoc in a countrys defense system and on its economy.
One of the best known incidents was perhaps the one caused on Irans centrifuges
by the Stuxnet worm in its Natanz nuclear enrichment facility, which probably
delayed its nuclear development activities by several months. Many consider this
worm the most advanced piece of its kind, one that significantly increases the profile
of cyberwarfare.
There are also potential problems with this kind of warfare, however. Malware
modeled after Stuxnet could also be used to target critical infrastructure in the US
such as electrical power grids and water-treatment plants, in addition to Department
of Defense facilities and banks. All these actions could adversely affect security
installations and cause enormous economic damages.
According to Defense officials, Pentagon computers are targeted about 5,000 times
per day. Although so far the extent of the damage has been controlled, there are no
assurances that in the future this kind of activity may not cause significant and longlasting effects. In a public notice, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation
(NERC) has alerted that the US electrical grid is exposed to cyberattacks, which could
cause enormous damage.
Because the U.S. has proved unable to prevent sophisticated cyberattacks, a US
Congressional group has suggested that US-based companies hack back to recover
stolen data, making these attacks more costly to carry out. US laws dont allow
corporations or private citizens to carry out retaliatory cyberattacks.
China, along with Russia, Iran and North Korea have reportedly developed plans to
disrupt the critical infrastructure of electrical grids, water purification plants, air
traffic control units, subways systems and telecommunications.
The real dilemma is how to reach international agreements to limit military attacks in
cyberspace. A Ukrainian professor of international law, Alexander Merezhko, has
developed a project, the International Convention on Prohibition of Cyberwar in
Internet, and an American General, Keith B. Alexander believes that talks should be
carried out between the US and Russia on ways to avoid military attacks in
cyberspace.
In September 2015, President Barak Obama and Chinas President Xi Jinping, agreed
that neither country would carry out cybertheft of intellectual property for

commercial gains. They also agreed to work together with other countries to
establish international rules for conduct in cyberspace. Unless agreements among
the leading world powers are reached soon, the consequences on international
commerce and world peace will be devastating.
This article has been excerpted from: Cyberspace: The New Field for War in the XXI
Century.
Courtesy: Counterpunch.org