Cyber attack, the new form of warfare

"The Hindu" - Hindi Translation

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Cyber attack, the new form of warfare
Peter Beaumont
plant and a recently revealed 2008 incident at a U.S.
base show the spread of cyber weapons.
1. The memory sticks were scattered in a washroom
at a U.S. military base in the Middle East that was
providing support for the Iraq war.
2.They were deliberately infected with a computer
worm, and the undisclosed foreign intelligence agency
behind the operation was counting on the fallibility of
human nature. According to those familiar with the events,
it calculated that a soldier would pick up one of the memory
sticks, pocket it and — against regulations — eventually
plug it into a military laptop.
It was correct.
3.The result was the delivery of a self-propagating
malicious worm into the computer system of the U.S.
military’s central command — Centcom — which would
take 14 months to eradicate.
4.That attack took place in 2008 and was
acknowledged by the Pentagon only this August. It was
strikingly similar to the recently disclosed cyber attack
on Iran’s nuclear facilities using the Stuxnet worm, which
also appears to have used contaminated hardware in an
attempt to cripple Iran’s nuclear programme.
5.Like the attack on Centcom’s computers, the
Stuxnet worm, which Iran admits has affected 30,000 of
its computers, was a sophisticated attack almost certainly
orchestrated by a state. It also appears that intelligence
operatives were used to deliver the worm to its goal.
The primary target
6.Its primary target, computer security experts say,
was a control system manufactured by Siemens and used
widely by Iran, not least in its nuclear facilities.
7.On September 29, Iran confirmed that the worm
had been found on laptops at the Bushehr nuclear reactor,
which had been due to go online next month [October]
but has now been delayed. It denied the worm had infected
the main operating system or caused the delay.
8. “I say firmly that enemies have failed so far to
damage our nuclear systems through computer worms,
despite all of their measures, and we have cleaned our
systems,” Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of Iran’s atomic
energy agency, told the Iranian Students News Agency.
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THE HINDU: Hindi Translation
Courtesy : - The Hindu 4 , October , 2010
bZjku ijek.kq IykaV ij geyk vkSj gky gh esa lkeus vkbZ ;w,l
csl ij 2008 esa ?kVh ?kVuk] lkbcj gfFk;kjksa ds foLrkj dks n’kkZrh gSA
¼1½ e/; iwoZ esa ;w,l fefyVªh csl fLFkr ok’k:e esa eseksjh fLVDl
fc[kjh iM+h Fkha] tks bZjkd ;q) ds fy, lgk;rk iznku dj jgha FkhaA
¼2½ os daI;qVj ds ,d ok;jl ls tkucw>dj nqf"kr dh xbZ Fkha
vkSj bl vkWijs'ku ds ihNs vizdV :i ls dke dj jgh QkWjsu
baVfs ytsl a ,tsl a h] ekuo izkÑfr ds vuq:i xyfr;ksa dh laHkkouk dk
bartkj dj jgh FkhA ?kVuk ds lkFk djhch jgs yksxksa ds vuqlkj]
mUgksua s vuqeku yxk;k fd dksbZ lSfud eseksjh fLVDl esa ls fdlh ,d
dks mBk,xk] tsc esa Mkysxk vkSj vUrr% fu;eksa ds f[kykQ bls
fefyVªh ds ySiVkWi ls tksM+sxkA
¼3½ bldk ifj.kke ;g Fkk fd Lo;a O;kid Lrj ij rsth ls
QSyus okyk ;g }s"kiw.kZ ok;jl ;w,l fefyVªh dh dsfUnz; dekaM ds
daI;qVj flLV~e ^lsVa dkWe* esa izo's k dj x;k] tks iwjh rjg ls u"V gksus
esa 14 eghusa ysrk gSA
¼4½ 2008 esa gqvk ;g geyk 2010 ds vxLr esa isaVkxu }kjk
lkeus vk;kA ;g gky gh esa lkeus vk,] bZjku dh ijek.kq lqfo/kkvksa
ij gksus okys ^LVDlusV* lkbcj geys ds gh yxHkx leku gS] ftlesa
bZjku ds ijek.kq izksxzke dks xaHkhj {kfr igq¡pkus ds fy, ,d jksx;qDr
gkMZos;j dk bLrseky fd;k x;k FkkA
¼5½ lsaVdkWe daI;qVlZ ij gq, geys dh rjg gh] LVDlusV
ok;jl dh lgk;rk ls bZjku ds 30]000 daI;qVlZ dks izHkkfor djus
okyk ;g geyk dkQh vuqHko ij vk/kkfjr Fkk] ftls fuf'pr~ :i ls
fdlh jk"Vª }kjk bfPNr ifj.kke ds fy, fd;k x;kA blls ;g Hkh
irk pyk fd ^baVsfytsal vkWijsfVo* vius y{; mís'; dks ikus ds
fy, bl rjg ds ok;jl Hkstk djrs FksA
¼6½ daI;qVj flD;qfjVh ,DiVZ dgrs gSa fd bldk izkjafHkd
y{; lhesl a daiuh }kjk ,d fu;af=r flLV~e dk mRiknu djuk FkkA
bZjku us bldk [kwc iz;ksx fd;k] exj de ls de viuh ijek.kq
lqfo/kkvksa ds fy, ughaA
¼7½ 29 flracj dks bZjku us c'kgj ijek.kq fj,DVj ij bl
ok;jl ds ik, tkus dh iqf"V dh] ftlds pyrs vxys eghus ¼vDVwcj
es½a vkWuykbu tkus ds izkx
s kz e esa vc nsjh gks pqdh gSA gkykafd mlus bl
ckr ls budkj fd;k fd ok;jl ds dkj.k gh nsjh gqbZ gS vkSj ok;jl us
eq[; vkWijsfVax flLV~e dks Hkh izHkkfor fd;k gSA
¼8½ bZjku ijek.kq ÅtkZ ,stsalh ds izeq[k vyh vdcj lysgh
us bZjkfu;u LVwMsaV~l U;wt ,tsalh ds crk;k fd ^^eSa fo'okl ls dg
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If the Stuxnet attack on Iran was a limited act of cyber
sabotage, on September 28 the U.S. attempted to imagine
what an all-out cyber war might look like and whether it
was equipped to deal with it.
Cyber Storm III
9. In an exercise named Cyber Storm III, involving
government agencies and 60 private sector organisations
including the banking, chemical, nuclear energy and IT
sectors, it presented a scenario where America was hit
by a co-ordinated cyber shock-and-awe campaign, hitting
1,500 different targets. The results of the exercise have
not been released.
10. One of those who believes that cyber war has
finally come of age is James Lewis of the Centre for
Strategic and International Studies in Washington. Lewis
said that while previous large-scale hacking attacks had
been an annoyance, Stuxnet and the attack on Centcom
represented the use of malicious programmes as
significant weapons. “Cyber war is already here,” said
Lewis. “We are in the same place as we were after the
invention of the aeroplane. It was inevitable someone
would work out how to use planes to drop bombs.
Militaries will now have a cyber-war capability in their
arsenals. There are five already that have that capacity,
including Russia and China.” Of those, Lewis said he
believed only three had the motivation and capability to
mount the Stuxnet attack on Iran: the U.S., Israel and the
U.K.
11. He added that a deliberate hack of an electric
generator at the Idaho National Laboratory, via the
internet, had previously demonstrated that infrastructure
could be persuaded to destroy itself.
12. “There is growing concern that there has already
been hostile reconnaissance of the U.S. electricity grid,”
he said.
‘Just a matter of time’
13. Last year, the Wall Street Journal quoted U.S.
intelligence officials describing how cyber spies had
charted the on-off controls for large sections of the U.S.
grid and its vulnerability to hacking.
14. The head of the Pentagon’s newly inaugurated
U.S. Cyber Command, General Keith Alexander, has
recently said that it is only a matter of time before America
is attacked by something like the Stuxnet worm.
15. In recent testimony to Congress, Alexander
underlined how the cyber war threat had rapidly evolved
in the past three years, describing two of the most high-
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THE HINDU: Hindi Translation
ldrk gw¡ fd vius lHkh iSekuksa ds ckotwn] gekjs ije.k.kq flLV~e dks
daI;qVj ok;jl dh enn ls u"V djus esa 'k=q iwjh rjg ls vlQy
gks pqds gSaA ;fn bZjku ij gqvk LVDlusV geyk] lkbcj ;q) dk
lhfer dk;Z Fkk] rks 28 flracj dks ;w,l us Hkh ;g dYiuk djus dk
iz;kl fd;k fd okLro esa lai.w kZ lkbcj ;q) dSlk fn[krk gS vkSj D;k
og blls fuiVus ds fy, iw.kZ :i ls rS;kj Fkk \
¼9½ lkbcj LVkWeZ III uked vH;kl ] ftlesa ljdkjh ,tsfa l;ksa
lfgr dSfedy] vkbZVh vkfn ls 60 izkbosV lsDVj laxBu 'kkfey Fks] us
,d vuqeku is'k fd;k fd lkbcj >Vds vkSj Hk; vfHk;ku ls vesfjdk
fdruk izHkkfor gqvkA lkbcj >Vds yxHkx 1500 y{;ksa dks pksV igqp a k
jgs gSAa gkykafd bl vH;kl dk fjtYV lkoZtfud :i ls ?kksf"kr ugha
fd;k x;kA
¼10½ ^lsaVj QkWj n LVªsVftd ,aM baVjus'kuy LVMht
¼okf'kaxVu½* ds tsEl Y;qbl mu pan tkudkjh esa ls ,d gS]a ftudk
fo'okl gS fd lkbcj ;q) vUrr% viuh mez ij vk pqdk gSA Y;wbl
us dgk fd iwoZ esa gksus okys O;kid Lrj ds gSfdax geys ,d cM+h
ijs'kkuh Fks] exj LVDlusV vkSj lsaVdkWe ij gqvk geyk] }s"kiw.kZ
izksxzkeksa dks lkFkZd gfFk;kjksa ds iz;ksx ds rkSj ij n'kkZrk gSA mUgksaus
dgk fd lkbcj ;q) ;gka igys ls gh gSA ge mlh LFkku ij gS]a tgka
ge gokbZ tgkt dk vfo"dkj gkssus ds ckn Fks vkSj ;g vifjgk;Z Fkk
fd dksbZ ij bl dke djsxk fd tgkt dk iz;ksx ce fxjkus ds fy,
dSls fd;k tk,A lsukvksa ds ikl vc muds 'kL= HkaMkjksa esa lkbcj
;q) dh {kerk,a Hkh gSAa :l vkSj phu lfgr dqy ikap ns'k gS]a ftuds
ikl ;s {kerk,a gSAa Y;qbl us dgk fd lHkh ikap ns'kksas esa ls dsoy rhu
ds ikl bZjku esa LVDlusV geyk djus dh izjs .kk vkSj ;ksX;rk Fkh vkSj
os rhu ns'k ;w,l] btjkby vkSj ;wds ¼baxySaM½ gSaA
¼11½ mUgksua s ;g Hkh dgk fd baVjusV ds tfj, ^bnkgksa us'kuy
yScksjVs ªh* ds ,d bySfDVªd tujsVj dks tkucw>dj gSd (Hack)fd,
tkus fd ?kVuk ls ;g igys gh fl) gks pqdk Fkk] fd cqfu;knh <kaps
dks [kqn u"V djus ds fy, rS;kj fd;k tk ldrk gSA
¼12½ mUgksaus dgkA ;g rsth ls c<+rh gS fpark fd ;w,l
bySfDVªflVh fxzM dh igys ls gh 'k=qrkiw.kZ Vksg gks pqdh gSA
¼13½ fiNys o"kZ] okWyLVªhV tuZy esa Nik fd ;w,l baVfs ytsl
a
vf/kdkjh O;k[;k dj jgs gSa fd dSls lkbcj xqIrpjksa us ;w,l fxzM
ds yacs [kaM vkSj bldh gSd djus dh {kerk ds fy,] blds
vkWu&vkWQ fu;a=.kksa dk uD'kk rS;kj fd;kA
¼14½ isaVkxu ds uofufeZr ^;w,l lkbcj dekaM* ds v/;{k
tujy dhFk ,ysDtsaMj us gky gh esa dgk fd ;g dsoy le; dk
ekeyk gS] blls igys fd LVDlusV dh rjg fdlh ds }kjk vesfjdk
ij Hkh geyk gksA
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profile attacks on countries: a 2007 assault on Estonia,
and a 2008 attack on Georgia during its war with Russia,
both blamed on Moscow.
16. Those were “denial of service” attacks that
disabled computer networks. But it is destructive attacks
such as Stuxnet that frighten Alexander the most.
Agreements needed
17. He favours agreements similar to nuclear
weapons treaties with countries such as Russia to limit
the retention and use of cyber-war technology.
18. One of the problems that will confront states in
this new era is identifying who is behind an attack. Some
analysts believe Israel is the most likely culprit in the
Stuxnet attack on Iran — perhaps through its cyber war
“unit 8200”, which has been given greater resources.
They point to a file in the worm called Myrtus — perhaps
an oblique reference to the book of Esther and Jewish
pre-emption of a plot to kill them. But it could also be a
red herring designed to put investigators off the scent.
19. Dave Clemente, a researcher into conflict and
technology at the Royal United Services Institute at
Chatham House in London, argues that where once the
threat from cyber war was “hyped ... reality has quickly
caught up”.
20. “You look at the Stuxnet worm. It is of such
complexity it could only be a state behind it,” he said.
21. Clemente points to the fact that the attack used
four separate, unpublicised flaws in the operating system
of the Bushehr plant to infect it. Other experts note that
Stuxnet used genuine verification code stolen from a
Taiwanese company, and that the worm’s designers built
in safeguards to limit the amount of collateral damage it
would cause.
22. “The U.S. and the U.K. are now putting large amounts
of resources into cyber warfare, in particular defence
against it,” said Clemente, pointing out that there is now
a cyber security operations centre in GCHQ (British
government communications headquarters) and a new
office of cyber security in the Cabinet Office. He added:
“What I think you can say about Stuxnet is that cyber
war is now very real. This appears to be the first instance
of a destructive use of a cyber war weapon.” — ©
Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2010
SOURCE LINK:- http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/article811322.ece
Courtesy: The Hindu ( 04, October - 2010)
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THE HINDU: Hindi Translation
¼15½ dkaxzsl dks fn, vius gkfy;k izek.kksa esa ,ysDtsaMj us
crk;k fd dSls fiNys rhu lkyksa esa lkbcj ;q) cgqr rsth ls QSyk
gS\ mUgksaus jk"Vªksa ij gq, nks cgqpfpZr geyksa ds ckjs esa crk;kA :l
ds lkFk 2007 esa ;q) ds nkSjku ,LVksfu;k vkSj 2008 esa T;ksftZ;k ij
geyk gqvk vkSj nksuks gh ns'kksa us blds fy, ekWLdks ij nks"k ea<+kA
¼16½ os ^fMuk;y vkWQ lfoZl (Denial of Service)geys Fks]
ftUgksaus daI;qVj usVodZ dk fuf"Ø; dj fn;k] exj ;s geys
LVDlusV dh rjg gh fouk'kdkjh gSA LVDlusV og geyk gS] ftlus
,ysDtsaMj dks lcls vf/kd Mjk;kA
¼17½ tujy ,tsDtsM a j lkbcj ;q) rduhd ds mi;ksx s vkSj
ml ij LokfeRo dks lhfer djus ds fy, ijek.kq gfFk;kj laf/k;ksa ds
leku] :l tSls ns'kksa ds lkFk le>kSrs dh odkyr djrs gSa]
¼18½ lkbcj geys ds ihNs dkSu gS] bldh igpku djuk Hkh
jk"Vªkas ds lkeus bl u, ;qx esa ,d leL;k gksxhA dqN fo'ys"kdksa dk
ekuuk gS fd bZjku ij gq, LVDlusV geys ds fy, 'kk;n btjkby
vius lkbcj ;q) ^;wfuV 8200* ds tfj, vf/kdka'k :i ls ftEesokj
gS] ftls egku lalk/ku fn, tk pqds gSa os feVlZ (Myrtus)uked
ok;jl esa ,d iafDr dh vksj b'kjk djrs gSa & ;g 'kk;n vLFkj
vkSj T;qbl dh iqLrd ds vizR;{k lanHkZ gS]a ftlesa mUgsa ekjus ds fy,
tehu ds iwoZ [kkyhiu dk ftØ gSA
¼19½ yanu ds p;u gkml esa fLFkr ^jkW;y ;wukbVsM lfoZflt
baLVhV~;wV* ds la?k"kZ ,oa rduhd esa 'kks/kdrkZ nos fDyesaV rdZ djrs
gq, dgrs gSa & ^^lkbcj ;q) ls ,d ckj tgka Hk; c<+k Fkk ------- ogha
bldh lPpkbZ tYn gh idM+h tk pqdh gSA
¼20½ mUgksua s dgk ^^vki LVDlusV ok;jl dks ns[ks]a blesa dqN
tfVyrk,a gS ,sls esa blds ihNs dksbZ jk"Vª gh gks ldrk gSA
¼21½ fDyeaV rF; dh vksj b'kkjk djrs gSa fd ^c'ksgj IykaV
ds vkWijsfVax flLV~e dks nwf"kr djus ds fy, geys esa pkj fcYdqy
vyx vkSj turk dh utjksa ls cps gq, ok;jl dk iz;ksx fd;k x;kA
ogha vU; ,DliVZ crkrs gSa fd LVDlusV esa rkbokuh daiuh ls pqjk;k
x;k 'kq) tkap dksM (Genuine Ventecation code) iz;ksx fd;k x;k
vkSj ok;jl fMtkbujksa us bldh vfrfjDr {kfr dh ek=k dks lhfer
ds fy, bldks lqj{kk dop esa fufeZr fd;kA
¼22½ fDyesVa us dgk fd lkbcj ;q) esa j{kk ds fy, vesfjdk
vkSj baXySaM vc j{kk ekeyksa ds Lrj ij lkbcj ;q) esa cM+h ek=k esa
lalk/ku yxk jgs gSaA mUgksaus crk;k fd vc lhth,p;w ¼fczfV'k
xouZeVas dE;qfuds'ku gSMDokVZj½ esa lkbcj flD;qfjVh vkWijs'ku vkSj
dSfcusV dk;kZy; esa lkbcj flD;qfjVh dk u;k dk;kZy; gSA mUgksua s
dgk ^^eSa le>rk gwa fd LVDlusV ds ckjs esa vki dg ldrs gSa fd
lkbcj ;q) vkt iwjh rjg ls lp gSA ;g lkbcj ;q) gfFk;kjksa ds
fouk'kdkjh mi;ksx dk igyk mnkgj.k izrhr gksrk gSA** Gaurdian
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