In class this past week we had a guest speaker come in and ask us a lot of questions about politics and social media. Although he was looking to have a specific dialogue he soon realized a lot of the people in class were not doing internships in the government and policy sectors. So the conversation was more of a Hodge Podge of different ideas and the one that stood out to me the most is the growth of social networks and overall usage of the internet as a whole. In thinking about this i decided I should do a blog showing whats going on to manage this influx of internet usage and how people are not all that safe online in terms of hackers. I am focusing a little on what is in the works to stop hackers and what will happen to them if they do decide to steal information from people (such as how Anthony Wiener was hacked lol)
In recent months there has been a rise in cybercrimes and thus the Department of Defense created a policy focused on it. There are dedicated hacking groups such as Anonymous and LulzSec have hacked or stolen important information from high-level companies including Sony, PBS, the CIA, Bank of America and Viacom, to name a few. The result of these "thefts" is that the U.S. government has been under pressure to come up with a way of dealing with these cyberattacks, especially when the target is national security.
William Lynn, deputy secretary of defense, announced a comprehensive program called Defense Industrial Base Cyber Pilot in conjunction with the Department of Homeland Security. The program will share classified information with defense contractors and commercial Internet service providers. According to a CNET report Lynn said during a speech at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C. "Our assessment is that cyberattacks will be a significant component of any future conflict, whether it involves major nations, rogue states or terrorist groups." According to this article, the Pentagon has recently announced that cyberattacks may qualify as acts of war.
Now how do I feel about all this you ask well let me just say...ABOUT TIME! Really about d@$% time. Come on, cyberattacks are nothing new they have been occurring since the birth of this here world wide web and people who are doing the hacking are only getting better at it and weren't really having to deal with the consequences of their actions.
If we look back to 1983 where one of the first arrest of hackers occurred The FBI busted six teen-age hackers from Milwaukee, known as the "414s."they were accused of some 60 computer break-ins, including form the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center to Los Alamos National Laboratory. One of the hackers get immunity for his testimony and the other five got probation o_O. Really 60 computer break-ins get you probation. I don't know about you but my most sensitive information and possessions lie on my hard drives and to have some one "break-in" and steal them and not be put in prison makes me lose faith in the justice system.
Lets look at a case that involved one of our own Cornellians. Graduate Rober Morris, launched a "worm" program onto the Internet that he wrote to exploit security holes on UNIX systems. The worm, programmed to penetrate other computers on the network and replicate itself, quickly it spread to about 1/10 of the Internet at the time and shut down networks by hogging system resources. Morris caused somewhere between 15-100 million dollars in damage and faced a maximum of 5 years in prison aand 250,000 dollars in fines. He instead got three years of probation, 400 hours of community service, and 10,000 dollar fine. Again another case of "Justice Gone Wrong." This man destoyed so much property that didn't belong to him, yet he was allowed to not have to spend a night in jail and to pay back 10,000 in fines.
I personally believe that these mistakes have paved the way for hacking to get to the point it is now being this big thing where national security is at a risk. These new policies should of been in place. I feel like now we are putting a Band-Ade on an artery wound when in hindsight we should of been put a metal plate over the area of the artery years ago. The floodgates are now open and hacking is growing at the same rate as Google+ (see what I did there). The growth of users on the internet is at an all time high and sensitive and valuable information is flying around us at all times. So now groups like Anonymous and LulzSec are now being created daily in an attempt to access this information for not necessarily for the "good" of the people. If you are reading this I urge you to make sure you are browsing the web on safe sites hopefully with secure connections (https) and that you stay off sites that seem sketch. If you are not sure leave immediately. Never leave your logins open on any computer that is not yours and if you do leave them open on your computer make sure to always lock your screen when away from your computer. Cyberattacks are at an all time high ladies and gentlemen and if you are not careful you could be the next victim of Cybercrime.
Malik-
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate this entry, because this is an issue I have been thinking about since the beginning of the summer semester. I went to a cyberdefense briefing on the Hill, and it was so interesting for me to hear an expert speak about the fact that it is nearly impossible to defend against such attacks. You say that the Pentagon recently declared cyber attack as an act of war--this makes sense to me, as a serious attack could truly shut down communication, production, and even an entire economy. Although cyber attack may not cause direct and physical harm, it constitutes an action that strikes at the core of a country.
Given this terrifying threat, I believe that it might be useful for foreign relations and defense students to study parallels between cyber attack and mutually assured destruction during the Cold War. Because there is no way to truly defend against a cyber attack (like a nuclear bomb) the only option is to launch a preemptive offensive attack, or respond in kind. This realization is frightening, as I feel that cyber attack could change the whole nature of warfare, just as the atomic bomb did. In the future, I think humanity and technology will become increasingly connected, and one debilitating virus could render a whole lifestyle disabled. This will mean that we could see cyber attack at the center of a world that looks similar to a multi-lateral Cold War setting, with tense relations, mistaken perceptions of other country's true intentions, and the widespread possession of a destructive tool. The main difference will be that it is possible to identify the source of an atomic bomb, while a cyber attack can disguise itself so well that we may never know who our enemies are.
MALIK MACK,
ReplyDeleteWow, I really liked reading your blog and completely agree. Working at INTERPOL this summer, I had to put together a briefing on the growing problem of cyber security and crime and how it has become a huge international issue that needs to be dealt with. The latest internet crimes has devastating effects on individuals who get their identities stolen and are scammed out of their money. Although the US Department of Defense has taken initiative in developing a policy defining cyber attacks that may qualify as acts of war, I believe they need to be working with other nations who have the same goal of finding these individuals and crime organizations that are currently out there on the web. Not only are they a threat to national security, but the well being of our citizens are at stake.
As for your tidbit regarding google+, I think time will only tell how their privacy features will be used and perceived by the masses. With users increasingly growing wary about sharing too much information with others, hopefully google+ will provide more safeguards. Too often do social networking websites emphasize their usability over security of user information. In the end, I don't think you can ever be too careful... your advice is definitely useful and people should really take extra precautions when combatting internet fraud and cyber crime.
MAL-LIK MACK!
ReplyDeleteI really think you bring up some excellent points in your blog. As a nation we are definitely moving towards a paperless and technology driven society. Eventually anything on paper will become obsolete and such we need to take the precautions to ensure that we can share private information over the internet.
The government needs to take serious initiatives to ensure this safety (new job sector anyone?). Working on these problems, and treating them as serious, high-security risk problems, will provide comfort to people and could open countless doors in how we use the internet (online voting!).