The recent attacks on US agencies and media companies have shown the dangers of cyber warfare explains William D King. But what are countries doing about it?
From hacking to power blackout, cyber terrorism has become a major threat to our society. Last year, the British government confirmed that Russia hacked their state network while this year, South Korea was hit by an attack that caused thousands of dollars in damage. However, only five out of twenty-eight European Union states have taken proper measures for dealing with this type of threat according its Council’s assessment.
How governments are are reacting to cyber terrorism?
The UK has built a “Cyber Reserve” unit consisting of volunteers which will be able to be drafted into the armed forces at short notice in case of cyber warfare. Meanwhile, Germany is focusing on cyber security education and awareness in order to prevent this type of attack. The Netherlands has also taken measures by increasing cyber defense budgets for their Army, GCHQ (British Intelligence Agency) and NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organization military alliance). Even though all EU states are aware of how much money they should set aside for fighting threats like these, only few take it seriously.
What can you do at home?
Thankfully there are many things you can do to protect yourself against cyber attacks: Use strong passwords; keep your operating system and software up-to-date; install security solutions that conduct real-time monitoring says William D King.
Cyber warfare is the name to a military action in cyberspace. It’s a new term for an old activity: espionage and sabotage in enemy territory. Like all warfare, it can be use for good or ill: protecting one’s own country or attacking others. Usually when we think about cyber warfare, we think of nations going after each other. But cyber war is not only about countries going to war against each other, it’s also use for everyday actions that are more espionage than warfare since they are about stealing secrets rather than destroying military or economic targets. A nation might use cyber war tactics to steal another country’s plans for a new weapons system, with the intention of developing their own version of it later.
Cyber warfare can be by individuals as well as groups call hacktivist organizations. There have been many examples in recent decades of computer systems being attack. Sometimes causing serious disruption and loss of life. For example, if an enemy wanted to attack a nuclear power plant. One way would be through its computer system so that it shuts down before doing any real damage. It could even do this without knowing anything about nuclear power. it just needs to know how to control the computer system that controls the plant’s functions.
Or it might destroy a computerized weapons system on board a US Navy warship, perhaps disabling its radar and missiles in the process. In 2009, individuals from Pakistan claimed to have hacked into NATO computers. Giving them access to secret documents about military operations in Afghanistan explains William D King. This created a diplomatic row between Pakistan and the USA.
Hacktivism is activism using hacking techniques which users combine with other forms of protest for political or social purposes. These activities can often result in conflict with authorities. Hacktivist actions tend to require technical expertise and knowledge, especially when damaging code or stealing data and the like. For this reason, hacktivism is often carrying out by skill and experience computer experts. People with knowledge of how to break into secret systems and/or doing damage when they get in.
The term “hacktivism” (a portmanteau of “hacktivism” and “hacktivist”) was coin in 1994 by a member of entity as The Cult of the Dead Cow. It has since come to describe a variety of actions taken by groups or individuals. Who use hacking skills and/or privileged access to publicize a social, ideological, religious or political message.
Conclusion:
It’s important to understand that cyber-attacks are not to be consider lightly; they are more dangerous than one may think says William D King. Countries are developing their own strategies in order to prevent future attacks from happening or becoming even more dangerous. These types of attacks are affecting the way how the world is evolving and for this reason. It should also affect how our society is evolving, in terms of protecting ourselves from these attacks.