- Home
- About Us & Project Introduction
- What Are "Cyber Security" and "Cyber Attack"?
- Why Does Cyber Security Matter?
- International and Local Cooperation on Cyber Attacks
- Simple Steps Towards Enhanced Cyber Security
- Educating the Public
- Video Reviews & Useful Resources
- Bibliography
- Acknowledgements
Political & Transnational
Cyberspace (the online world) is considered to be another dimension in the modern warfare. Hostile states or terrorist organisations can launch cyber attacks on other nations (this process is called cyberwarfare) and cripple or destroy crucial public infrastructure such as the Internet communications (e.g. 2007 cyberattacks on Estonia, July 2009 cyber attacks on South Korea and USA. More than that, in 2010, a computer worm called Stuxnet was discovered, it is designed to target only Simens supervisory control and data acquisition systems that are configured to control and monitor specific industrial processes including the Iran nuclear prgram. This was the first malware that could truly be described as a 'cyber-weapon'. Once this "Pandora's box" has been opened the conventional missiles and bombs are replaced by the malware, the shots are fired without starting wars. Therefore, nations have to be on constantly alert for incoming cyber attacks from hostile states and terrorist organisations, and must be able to deal swiftly with such large-scale nation-wide cyber attacks.
Apart from the cyber attacks among the states, the states can conduct cyber espionage on people, especially dissidents opposed to the states or those deemed to be dangerous to the states. For example, in Germany, a few months ago the so-called Scuinst (an abbreviation of Skype Capture Unit Installer)Trojan was found, which was a trojan used by German government officials to investigate their own citizens! Today's government more than tapping your phone or your internet connection, they can use tools like Scuinst Trojan to infect your computer with a trojan which enables them to watch all your communication, to listen to your online discussions, to collect your passwords. This is not just about piracy anymore. It is about personal freedom against government control! Therefore, if we want to ensure our freedom, we seriously should consider proper measures of ensuring our cyber security and thus privacy.
Quick Reference
Traynor, I. (2007, May 17). Russia accused of unleashing cyberwar to disable Estonia. The Guardian. Retreived from http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/may/17/topstories3.russia
Coalson, R. (2002, March 6). Behind the estonian cyberattacks. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved from http://www.rferl.org/content/Behind_The_Estonia_Cyberattacks/1505613.html
Schneier, B. (2010, December 2). It will soon be too late to stop the cyberwars. Schneier.com. Retrieved from http://www.schneier.com/essay-334.html. [Original Article from the Financial Times]
Wikipedia Foundation. (n.d.). July 2009 cyber attacks. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/July_2009_cyber_attacks
Wikipedia Foundation. (n.d.). Stuxnet. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuxnet
Eddy, M. (2011, October 11). German government fesses up to spying on citizens with trojan, says it’s legal. Retrieved from http://www.geekosystem.com/german-gov-trojan/
TEDtalks. (Producer). (2011). Three types of online attack. [Web Video]. Retrieved from http://blog.ted.com/2012/01/18/three-types-of-online-attack-mikko-hypponen-on-ted-com/
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Apart from the cyber attacks among the states, the states can conduct cyber espionage on people, especially dissidents opposed to the states or those deemed to be dangerous to the states. For example, in Germany, a few months ago the so-called Scuinst (an abbreviation of Skype Capture Unit Installer)Trojan was found, which was a trojan used by German government officials to investigate their own citizens! Today's government more than tapping your phone or your internet connection, they can use tools like Scuinst Trojan to infect your computer with a trojan which enables them to watch all your communication, to listen to your online discussions, to collect your passwords. This is not just about piracy anymore. It is about personal freedom against government control! Therefore, if we want to ensure our freedom, we seriously should consider proper measures of ensuring our cyber security and thus privacy.
Quick Reference
Traynor, I. (2007, May 17). Russia accused of unleashing cyberwar to disable Estonia. The Guardian. Retreived from http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/may/17/topstories3.russia
Coalson, R. (2002, March 6). Behind the estonian cyberattacks. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved from http://www.rferl.org/content/Behind_The_Estonia_Cyberattacks/1505613.html
Schneier, B. (2010, December 2). It will soon be too late to stop the cyberwars. Schneier.com. Retrieved from http://www.schneier.com/essay-334.html. [Original Article from the Financial Times]
Wikipedia Foundation. (n.d.). July 2009 cyber attacks. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/July_2009_cyber_attacks
Wikipedia Foundation. (n.d.). Stuxnet. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuxnet
Eddy, M. (2011, October 11). German government fesses up to spying on citizens with trojan, says it’s legal. Retrieved from http://www.geekosystem.com/german-gov-trojan/
TEDtalks. (Producer). (2011). Three types of online attack. [Web Video]. Retrieved from http://blog.ted.com/2012/01/18/three-types-of-online-attack-mikko-hypponen-on-ted-com/
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