ilal Akhter Lashari:

Cyber Deterrence
The internet has transformed our lives. We
rely more on the internet than any other
invention. It has transformed the whole
world with a network of three Ws (World
Wide Web). Any modern society has
computer systems linked to the internet,
which controls and regulates
transportation, communication, banking,
power stations, air-traffic control systems,
military systems and economic systems.
There is no doubt that vast benefits have
been reaped from the development of the
internet. But the downside is quite
apparent. Consequently, the spread of

internet technology has exposed the user

to digital or cyber attacks.
Cyber attacks are not only carried out by
individuals or group of hackers independently,
but reportedly many states have cyber armies or
groups of cyber security experts to counter or
perform cyber attacks on another state. Such an
action by any state falls into the category of cyber
warfare. In his book Cyber War U.S government
security expert Richard A. Clarke defined cyber
warfare as actions by a nation-state to
penetrate another nations computers or
networks for the purposes of causing damage or
disruption. Also, it can be regarded as an
umbrella term which includes cyber attacks, cyber
espionage and sabotage. Moreover, William J.
Lynn, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense stated
that as a doctrinal matter, the Pentagon has

formally recognized cyberspace as a new domain

in warfare . . . [which] has become just as critical
to military operations as land, sea, air, and
space. High dependency of military, economic
and civilian infrastructure on the internet has left
the world vulnerable to fully-fledged Cyber
Warfare. That is why many cyber security and
command centers have been set up namely, U.S.
Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM), European
Unions European Network and Information
Security Agency (ENISA), NATOs Cooperative
Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE)
and United Kingdoms cyber-security &
operations centre based in Government
Communications Headquarters (GCHQ).
Apart from that, global computer security
software company McAfee stated in
their report that, around 120 countries are in the

phase of developing ways to use internet as a

weapon. The method of attack include espionage
& national security breaches, sabotage and denialof-service attack. But the worst part is that the
identity of attacker mostly remains
anonymous.
There have been numerous cases in which a
nation-state has allegedly performed cyber attacks
on another state. On 27 April 2007, a series of
cyber attacks were carried out on Estonia which
resulted in disruption of government, news,
financial and broadcaster servers all over the
country amidst ongoing tussle with the Kremlin
over the repositioning of Soviet-era grave
markers. Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas
Paet publicly accused Russia of conducting these
attacks. Similar attacks took place a year later on
Georgia and Azerbaijan during the 2008 South

Ossetia war disabling the websites of Georgian

and Azerbaijani organization. However, the
Kremlin has not officially claimed the
responsibility of such attacks. Reportedly, another
major-scale attack was conducted by the US and
Israel on Iran. The cyber-worm named
Stuxnet had razed over 1000 nuclear centrifuges
at the Iranian nuclear facility in Natanz. The
damage potential of Stuxnet was massive as it has
set Tehrans atomic program back by at least 2
years while German security expert Ralph
Langerregarded Stuxnet as a military-grade cybermissile.
Recently, South Korea came under a cyber attack
which paralyzed the countrys computer networks
running three major banks and two largest
broadcasters. Many experts and analysts blame
the North, but the South Korean Communications

Commission declared that disruption originated

from an internet provider address in China.
However, South Korean officials still lack
substantial proof to hold anyone responsible for
these attacks because any skilled hacker can easily
mask his identity and location. Investigation of
cyber attacks on Estonia in 2007 showed that the
computers used in those attacks belonged to
innocent Americans, which were hijacked.
Other examples highlight the nature and
importance of cyber warfare. Moreover, the
challenges faced by the world community to
contain the rising threat of cyber attacks are
enormous because we can count and track the
nuclear missiles but it is impossible to track or
count the cyber weapons. Apart from that, public
internet is not safe either. Imagine a cyber attack
on a society whose infrastructure is completely

linked to the internet. Recently, NATOs CCDCOE

released the Tallinn Manual on the International
Law applicable to Cyber Warfare which allows a
country to defend itself and retaliate against cyber
warfare but it is just a mere expression of opinions
of experts. Global powers must devise a method of
cyber deterrence before it is too late the clock is
ticking.
And of course there is the Edward Snowden saga:
it seems that we are all under attack
The author is a researcher at The Pakistan
Institute of International Affairs and a student of
the Department of International Relations,
University of Karachi.
References:

http://www.npr.org/2013/03/12/174135800/cyb
er-attacks-terrorism-top-u-s-security-threatreport
http://www.economist.com/node/16478792
http://www.economist.com/node/16481504?
story_id=16481504&source=features_box1
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2013/03/2
0/f-cyber-attacks-international-law.html?
cmp=rss
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