Cyber War: The Next Threat to National Security and What to Do About It Read Online Free PDF Page A

the computer code involved had been written on Cyrillic-alphabet keyboards.
    The Russian government indignantly denied that it was engaged in cyber war against Estonia. It also refused Estonia’s formal diplomatic request for assistance in tracing the attackers, although a standing bilateral agreement required Moscow to cooperate. Informed that the attacks had been traced back to Russia, some government officials admitted that it was possible perhaps that patrioticRussians, incensed at what Estonia had done, were taking matters into their own hands. Perhaps.
    But even if the “patriotic Russians” theory were to be believed, it left unanswered the question of why the Russian government would not move to stop such vigilantism. No one doubted for a minute that the KGB’s successors had the ability to find the culprits and to block the traffic. Others, more familiar with modern Russia, suggested that what was at work was far more than a passive Russian police turning a blind eye to the hooliganism of overly nationalistic youth. The most adept hackers in Russia, apart from those who are actual government employees, are usually in the service of organized crime. Organized crime is allowed to flourish because of its unacknowledged connection to the security services. Indeed, the distinction between organized criminal networks and the security services that control most Russian ministries and local governments is often blurry. Many close observers of Russia think that some senior government officials permit organized crime activity for a slice of the profits, or, as in the case of Estonia, for help with messy tasks. Think of Marlon Brando as the Godfather saying, “Someday…I will call upon you to do a service for me…”
    After Bronze Night, the Russian security services had encouraged domestic media outlets to whip up patriotic sentiment against Estonia. It is not a stretch to imagine that they also asked organized crime groups to launch the hackers in their employ, perhaps even giving those hackers some information that would prove helpful. Did the Russian government security ministries engage in cyber attacks on Estonia? Perhaps that is not the right question. Did they suggest the attacks, facilitate them, refuse to investigate or punish them? And, in the end, does the distinction really matter when you are an Estonian unable to get your money out of a Hansapank ATM?
     
    Following the cyber attack, NATO moved to create a cyber defense center. It opened in 2008, a few miles from the site where the giant bronze solider had originally stood. On the original site of the bronze soldier there is a nice little grove of trees now. Unfortunately, the NATO center in Tallinn was of little use when another former Soviet satellite republic, Georgia, and Mother Russia got into a tussle over some small disputed provinces.
    The Republic of Georgia lies directly south of Russia along the Black Sea, and the two nations have had a decidedly unequal relationship for well over a century. Georgia is geographically slightly smaller than the state of South Carolina and has a population of about four million people. Given its location and size, Georgia has been viewed by Moscow as properly within the Kremlin’s “sphere of influence.” When the original Russian empire began to disintegrate after the Russian Revolution, the Georgians tried to make a break for it while the Russians were too busy fighting each other, declaring Georgian independence in 1918. As soon as the Russians finished fighting each other, however, the victorious Red Army quickly invaded Georgia, installed a puppet regime, and made Georgia part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Soviet control of Georgia lasted until 1991, when, as the central Russian government was again in turmoil, Georgia once more took the opportunity to declare independence.
    Two years later, Georgia lost control of two territories, South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Supported by Moscow, the local