Warfare has been a common theme throughout human history; however, in the 21st century, warfare has shifted from outright hostility and aggression to a more discrete form via the internet. This article will explore how cyberwar is conducted to achieve one’s objectives and its rippling consequences for the victims.
The War On All Fronts
On January 14, Ukraine experienced a string of cyberattacks that resulted in the collapse of several Ukrainian government’s websites with a warning message that states, “All information about you has become public, be afraid and expect the worst” (Margaret et.al., 2022). Sources suggest that an unknown group initiated the cyber attack with close ties to the Russian government (Margaret et.al., 2022). As such, the news story highlights the uncanny ability of a foreign entity (Russia) to directly attack the government of another country (Ukraine) while maintaining deniability. Not only were they able to extract private information, but they were able to intimidate high-ranking officials without explicit aggression. Similarly, cyber warfare has become a tool for Russia to exert its authority/presence in countries (especially post-soviet states), making even Stalin proud. For instance, Sood and Chaturvedi recently uncovered a malware called ‘Collector-stealer’ whose purpose is to “target European countries, but it also affects users in other countries such as the USA, China, Cambodia and others” (Sood and Chaturvedi, 2021). The virus was found to have Russian origins and utilized phishing and shady downloads to target users (see figure 1). The virus could have devastating effects, primarily when used on government institutions to extract private information via text duplication, window screenshots, and streaming computers remotely (Sood and Chaturvedi, 2021). Moreover, the two examples mentioned above reiterate the theme of cyber warfare, which is to indirectly achieve one’s goal in harming foreign governments and their citizens without direct aggression.
The Big Influence
Furthermore, cyber warfare could be used to influence a government through hidden cyber channels or spread propaganda. The key nation-state that has perfected the influence game is the Chinese Communist Party, which has been known to influenced elections, laws, and even politicians (no surprise here!) in western countries (Robert and Chase, 2022). Recently, Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) issued a statement suggesting China’s attempt at “covertly domesticate relations with elected officers to achieve sway over parliamentary debates and authorities decision-making” (Robert and Chase, 2022). The article emphasizes the use of disinformation campaigns through social media to influence public order and policies in a foreign country. For instance, a report by Washington Post suggests how China purchased Twitter and Facebook social media account for their institutions (police, for instance). These social media accounts then attempted to promote positive views on their glorious leader, spreading misinformation about political candidates/ideologies, thereby furthering domestic polarization (see figure 2), and hiding sensitive information such as the Ughyur genocide (Cate, 2022). When combined, these tools could have devastating effects on the nation and could potentially undermine democracy or social unity through covert influence.
What Can Be Done
- Increased funding for cybersecurity agencies (private and government)
- Pressure Big Tech to increase monitoring on their services
- Develop new tools to counter foreign cyberattacks and stronger encryption
These strategies could be utilized to limit foreign interference and protect their citizens and institutions from cyber-attacks.
Finally, this article highlighted how cyberwar is conducted to achieve militaristic goals without physical aggression or influence a foreign government to promote policies/laws that are not of interest to their citizens. Also, considering Russia and China are both communist regimes that engage extensively in cyber warfare, it makes one question if Karl Marx should have included a chapter on cyberwarfare in his bestseller Communist Manifesto!
Appendix
Figure 1: The image above was extracted from Sood and Chaturvedi article (Sood and Chaturvedi, 2021). The images show a keygen capable of cracking Microsoft office. However, upon downloading, the collector-stealer virus is activated, transmitting private data from the user back to the hacker.
Figure 2: The image above shows a fake Twitter account with a post stating the death related to gun violence in the United States. Currently, the account is suspended due to disinformation. Nonetheless, numerous accounts like these spread false information to further polarization in Western countries. Image extract from BBC article (Carmichael, 2021).
References
Brenna, Margaret, et al. “Ukraine Hit with Cyberattack, a Tactic It ‘Expected’ to Precede a ‘Full Invasion’ by Russia.” CBS News, CBS Interactive, 14 Jan. 2022, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ukraine-cyber-attack-russia-us-nato-donbas-war-amabssador-markarova/.
Cadell, Cate. “China Harvests Masses of Data on Western Targets, Documents Show.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 1 Jan. 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/china-harvests-masses-of-data-on-western-targets-documents-show/2021/12/31/3981ce9c-538e-11ec-8927-c396fa861a71_story.html.
Carmichael, Flora. “How a Fake Network Pushes pro-China Propaganda.” BBC News, BBC, 5 Aug. 2021, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-58062630.
Fife, Robert and Steven, Chase. “Canada’s Spy Agency Warns Mps to Beware of Influence Operations from China.” The Globe and Mail, 11 Jan. 2022, https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-spy-agency-briefing-mps-to-beware-of-influence-operations-from-china/.
Sood, Aditya, and Chaturvedi, Rohit. “Collector-Stealer: A Russian Origin Credential and Information Extractor.” The Virus Bulletin, 8 Dec. 2021, https://www.virusbulletin.com/uploads/pdf/magazine/2021/202112-collector-stealer.pdf
Hi!
Fifa is one of the most popular games in the world and as a person who started playing since 2012, I do feel proud of how improved their quality have gone up. Even if I feel proud, there are pros and cons of being one of the most popular games. They really do want us to spend alot of money and like the problem you have talked about, this can be a serious issue! As you stated before, EA adding a second layer of mangaerial approval for any changes to the account, they should’ve done it way long ago, I haven’t seen many cases like this, but big companies like riot games, blizzard etc should maybe improve on their securities so incidents like this could be prohibited!
Ouch!
I accidentally posted a comment to the wrong post! Sorry!
Good post! I think that cyberattacks is a very important topic to discuss and an interesting one. It’s crazy to think that cyber warfare is used in that way to influence governments such that it is being used to encourage them to implement laws. I think that keeping software up to date would also help limit cyber attacks. Given that, it’s really scary having your information possibly leaked on a website for everyone else to see and hopefully we can learn to protect data in the future.
You make a very interesting point. When I was writing this, that thought has been my biggest concern. Alternatively, knowing that governments are waging an unconventional cyberwar is hard to believe but it is the reality for many, especially in the west. I also believe that they are unprepared for a new type of warfare. Cyberwarfare is relatively new and as we move through the years, we are witnessing its destructive potential. I hope this would be a wake-up call for countries to mobilize their online security to better protect their domestic products.
Hey!
Great post! Cyber warfare is both interesting and scary. Its interesting to think about how dependent we are on the internet and technology as a whole and how much damage to our daily lives such attacks have. In my blog post it mentioned that Iranian and Chinese hacker groups were tracked down in using the Log4j exploit which aligns with this post. Your post made me wonder if there will ever be digital sanctions and embargos. Something like limiting global ISPs from one country to another.
You know I have never thought about digital actions and embargos. It seems like a very interesting concept but I think that would be very hard to achieve. A previous post mentioned the rise of Web 3 which aims to be decentralized. As such, if something has no ownership then it can be very hard or difficult to deny someone the asset as a financial persuasion. Alternatively, denying ISP is also difficult because every country has their own ISP provider and unless if there is a central data storage ‘to rule them all’, I would imagine the difficulty associated with it
Very interesting read. I was watching an interview of a Commander in the US military point out that cyber warfare is the next battleground and the side which will dominate this sphere will be at an advantage even before the first boots have touched enemy soil. I agree with your points that increased funding and focus is needed in these cybersecurity agencies to protect important government assets. Hopefully the tension between Russia and Ukraine subsides. Great Post!
Yes and higher wages for information security people. I think as more money is pushed into this field, the more we could potentially benefit as a community. I know that with the war on Ukraine, cybersecurity appears to be the central issue facing many individuals. Governments from all over the world are witnessing the destructive potential that cyberwarfare holds and I hope other can take notes to better protect themselves.
It’s interesting to see warfare evolve to have its battlefields be on the internet. Reading your article I felt a bit sad thinking about how the military is in a way invading the internet through cyber-warfare, only to remember how the internet (sadly like many good things) was born from the military’s interests. In times like these we must always remember: we are not immune from propaganda.
Exactly. Propaganda is just one aspect of cyberwarfare. Clearly, it is a tool for absolutist to spread their ideology and strengthen their international support. Without propaganda, the brainwashing would not be as efficient as the government hopes it to be. Additionally, cyberwarfare can also be used against dissidents to silence them which China is a fan of. I think there should be more done to prevent these occurrences and give people the tools to fight against dictatorial governments.
Very interesting post. Nowadays, conflicts between countries are not only wars between armies, but also cyber wars with the development of science and technology. I think it’s horrible. During the russia-Ukraine conflict, Russia used cyber hacking to disable Power stations in Ukraine. Cyber intrusions make it easier for one side to gain an advantage, paralyzing the other’s infrastructure without entering enemy territory. Hopefully the conflict between Russia and Ukraine will ease soon.
Yeah, I hope so too. However, the lesson to be learned from this encounter is that more needs to be done to protect online infrastructure. Nowadays, everything is connected with the world wide web which includes industrial and nuclear plant, government infrastructures, i.e social security, and the military. The fact that a critical price can be immobilized with someone sitting in their basements from 1000 km away shows the extent of power exerted by cyberwarfare. I agree that cyberwarfare makes it easier for a country to gain a one-sided advantage over the other and this is precisely what makes it extremely dangerous. As such, if more could be done to ensure this does not happen, the happier the countries will be.