Cyberspace is a unique environment. It is borderless and attacks can have virtually unlimited range and speed. Massive results can be achieved without massing forces. These attacks are an especially effective weapon for small groups because the technology required is cheap and easy to get -- sometimes just a computer and an Internet connection. Whereas this electronic assault is a powerful tool for a nation, as country can use it to initiate the cyber warfare campaign against its own counterpart. For example, Russia launched an infamously cyber attack against Georgia in the early of August 2008, which has overwhelmed the Georgian sites with traffic and caused a catastrophic system failure. Although it was the first time a known cyber attack had coincided with a shooting war, it can expect to see cyber attacks being increasingly used as a weapon.
Unlike Georgia, the U.S. government has poured hundreds of millions of dollars into improving its cyber defence capabilities since 9/11, as well as its capacity to launch online attacks. Its ability to detect and counter attacks on governmental sites is much more sophisticated than Georgia's. Yet security experts say there's an enormous amount of work still to be done to reduce the vulnerability of the many agencies, businesses and homes that are electronically connected. As a result, it can be seen that the government alone cannot secure the cyberspace.
In cyberspace, national boundaries have little meaning. Information flows continuously and seamlessly across different aspects. Because of the global nature of cyberspace, the vulnerabilities that exist are open to the world and available to anyone, anywhere, anytime, with sufficient capability to exploit them. Therefore, countering such cyber attacks requires the development of robust capabilities where it is up to the engineers to relish this international challenge.
Reference
Col. (S) Bradley K. Ashley, USAF. The United States Is Vulnerable to Cyberterrorism. Retrieved 20 September 2008 from http://www.afcea.org/signal/articles/templates/SIGNAL_Article_Template.asp?articleid=32&zoneid=10
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2 comments:
Concise summary. I read your summary before I read the article and I felt you have captured all the main points especially the role of the government in cyber-terrorism. Very interesting article.
Yes, it is very interesting. I have no idea about attack in cyberspace among countries before.
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