Cyberwar http://wiki.ucalgary.ca/page/Courses/Computer_Science/ - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Cyberwar http://wiki.ucalgary.ca/page/Courses/Computer_Science/ CPSC_601.65.Cyberwar.F2012

What is war? • State of armed conflict between states or societies. It is generally characterized by extreme aggression, destruction, and mortality, using regular or irregular military force. —Wikipedia

What is cyberwar? • An ill-defined topic that cuts across the boundaries between cyber-espionage, criminal cyber attacks and activity, information security, economic espionage, "traditional" kinetic conflict, and kinetic war with electronic weapons and targeting systems. —Mike Locasto • But is it war?

Estonia • 2007 • DDoS attack on Estonian organizations • Defacements of Estonian websites • Carried out by Russia • Why? Estonia relocated the Bronze Soldier of Tallinn

Stuxnet • Computer worm targeting SCADA systems • First released as early as 2010 • Built by US/Israeli governments • Targeted Iranian nuclear facilities

HBGary • HBGary — a computer security company • Anonymous • 2011 • Hacked, emails dumped • Released bad configurations

Arab Spring • December 2010 • Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Yemen, Syria and Bahrain • Elevated levels of Internet censorship by governments • Egypt, Libya, and Syria turned off the Internet • Iran — “domestic internet”

Egypt leaving the Internet https://dyn.com/blog/egypt-leaves-the-internet/

China • State sponsored cyber espionage • Steal corporate secrets • Pledged to stop in 2016 • OPM data breach • Steal background check information • Steal fingerprints • Internet censorship/target dissidents

Hacking Team • Private company that buys/sells 0 day exploits • License a Remote Access Trojan • Client list includes US, Sudan, Ecuador, and many many more countries • Used to target opposition party, dissidents, criminals, and (purportedly) to rig elections https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/04/magazine/cyberwar-for- sale.html

Sony • November 2014 • Sony Pictures movie “The Interview” — a comedy about assassinating Kim Jong-un • Installed a worm on Sony’s system • Stole data, hijacked twitter accounts

Election Interference • 2016 US election • Russia hacked into the DNC and leaked emails • Spread weaponized information over social media • more?

Debate • What can we legitimately call cyberwar activity? • Is it cyberwar even if nobody dies as a result? • What is a cyberweapon? • Cyberwar is a significant threat. • Cyberwar is likely in the near future.

Debates • Hacker tools are cyberweapons and should be licensed or banned. • People should be able to shed their name/ citizenship when participating online. • Cyberwar can be effectively regulated through multilateral treaties.