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A cyberattack is any unauthorized effort against computer infrastructure that compromises the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of its content.
Hackers from Azerbaijan and Armenia have actively participated in cyber warfare as part of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict cyber warfare over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, with Azerbaijani hackers targeting Armenian websites and posting Ilham Aliyev's statements. [1] [2]
"Chinese state-sponsored actor" attacked a research facility in Canada in 2011. Unknown hackers attacked Canada's foreign ministry in 2022. [3]
China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) has developed a strategy called "Integrated Network Electronic Warfare" which guides computer network operations and cyber warfare tools. This strategy helps link together network warfare tools and electronic warfare weapons against an opponent's information systems during the conflict. They believe the fundamentals for achieving success is about seizing control of an opponent's information flow and establishing information dominance. [4] The Science of Military and The Science of Campaigns both identify enemy logistics systems networks as the highest priority for cyberattacks and states that cyber warfare must mark the start of a campaign, used properly, can enable overall operational success. [4] Focusing on attacking the opponent's infrastructure to disrupt transmissions and processes of information that dictate decision-making operations, the PLA would secure cyber dominance over their adversary. The predominant techniques that would be utilized during a conflict to gain the upper hand are as follows, the PLA would strike with electronic jammers, electronic deception, and suppression techniques to interrupt the transfer processes of information. They would launch virus attacks or hacking techniques to sabotage information processes, all in the hopes of destroying enemy information platforms and facilities. The PLA's Science of Campaigns noted that one role for cyber warfare is to create windows of opportunity for other forces to operate without detection or with a lowered risk of counterattack by exploiting the enemy's periods of "blindness", "deafness" or "paralysis" created by cyberattacks. [4] That is one of the main focal points of cyber warfare, to be able to weaken your enemy to the full extent possible so that your physical offensive will have a higher percentage of success.
The PLA conducts regular training exercises in a variety of environments emphasizing the use of cyber warfare tactics and techniques in countering such tactics if it is employed against them. Faculty research has been focusing on designs for rootkit usage and detection for their Kylin Operating System which helps to further train these individuals' cyber warfare techniques. China perceives cyber warfare as a deterrent to nuclear weapons, possessing the ability for greater precision, leaving fewer casualties, and allowing for long-ranged attacks.
On March 2, 2021, Microsoft released an emergency security update to patch four security vulnerabilities that had been used by Hafnium, a Chinese nation-state-sponsored hacking group that had compromised at least 30,000 public and private Microsoft exchange servers. [5]
The 2007 cyberattacks on Estonia were a series of cyberattacks that began on 27 April 2007 and targeted websites of Estonian organizations, including Estonian parliament, banks, ministries, newspapers, and broadcasters, amid the country's disagreement with Russia about the relocation of the Bronze Soldier of Tallinn, an elaborate Soviet-era grave marker, as well as war graves in Tallinn. [6] [7] The attacks triggered a number of military organizations around the world to reconsider the importance of network security to modern military doctrine. The direct result of the cyberattacks was the creation of the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence in Tallinn.
In an extension of a bilateral dispute between Ethiopia and Egypt over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, Ethiopian government websites have been hacked by the Egypt-based hackers in June 2020. [8]
There were two such instances between India and Pakistan that involved cyberspace conflicts, starting in the 1990s. Earlier cyber attacks came to be known as early as 1999. [9] Since then, India and Pakistan were engaged in a long-term dispute over Kashmir which moved into cyberspace. Historical accounts indicated that each country's hackers have been repeatedly involved in attacking each other's computing database system. The number of attacks has grown yearly: 45 in 1999, 133 in 2000, 275 by the end of August 2001. [9] In 2010, Indian hackers laid a cyber attack at least 36 government database websites going by the name "Indian Cyber Army". [10] In 2013, Indian hackers hacked the official website of Election Commission of Pakistan in an attempt to retrieve sensitive database information. [11] In retaliation, Pakistani hackers, calling themselves "True Cyber Army" hacked and defaced ~1,059 websites of Indian election bodies. [11]
In 2013, India's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) which was then known as Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY), unveiled a cybersecurity policy framework called National Cyber Security Policy 2013 which officially came into effect on July 1, 2013. [12]
According to the media, Pakistan's has been working on effective cyber security systems, in a program called the "Cyber Secure Pakistan" (CSP). [13] The program was launched in April 2013 by the Pakistan Information Security Association and the program has expanded to country's universities.
In 2020, according to the Media reports, Pakistan Army confirms the series of Cyber Attacks that has been identified on Pakistani Government and private websites by the Indian Intelligence. ISPR also advised the government and private institutions to enhance cyber security measures. [14]
Indonesia said it has started to recover data that had been encrypted in a major ransomware attack in June which affected more than 160 government agencies.
The attackers identified as Brain Cipher asked for $8 million in ransom to unlock the data before later apologising and releasing the decryption key for free, according to Singapore-based cybersecurity firm StealthMole. [15]
On 8 February 2020, the telecommunication network of Iran witnessed extensive disruptions at 11:44 a.m. local time, which lasted for about an hour. The Ministry of Information and Communications Technology of Iran confirmed it as a Distributed Denial of Service attack. The Iranian authorities activated the "Digital Fortress" cyber-defense mechanism to repel. Also known as DZHAFA, it led to a drop of 75 percent in the national internet connectivity. [16]
On the noon of 26 October 2021, a cyberattack caused all 4,300 fuel stations in Iran to disrupt and disable government-issued cards for buying subsidized fuel. This cyber attack also caused digital billboards to display messages against the Iranian government. [17] [18]
On 14 May 2021, the Health Service Executive (HSE) of Ireland suffered a major ransomware cyber attack which caused all of its IT systems nationwide to be shut down. [19] [20] [21] [22]
It was the most significant cybercrime attack on an Irish state agency and the largest known attack against a health service computer system. [23] [24] The group responsible was identified as a criminal gang known as Wizard Spider, believed to be operating from Russia. [25] [26] [27] The same group is believed to have attacked Ireland's Department of Health with a similar cyber attack.
In April 2020, there were attempts to hack into Israel's water infrastructure of the Sharon central region by Iran, which was thwarted by Israeli cyber defenses. The cyberattack intended to introduce dangerous levels of chlorine into the Israeli water supply. [28]
In February 2024 UN sanctions monitors were investigating claims that dozens of cyber attacks that North Korea is suspected of carrying out has raised around $3 billion which is being used to fund and develop its nuclear weapons program. [29]
In August 2020 the Norwegian parliament Stortinget suffered a cyberattack on the email system belonging to several officials. In December 2020, the Norwegian Police Security Service said the likely perpetrators were the Russian cyber espionage group Fancy Bear. [30]
During the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Russia countered and stopped around 25 million cyber-attacks on IT Infrastructure. [31] [32]
In June 2019, Russia has conceded that it is "possible" its electrical grid is under cyber attack by the United States. [33] The New York Times reported that American hackers from the United States Cyber Command planted malware potentially capable of disrupting the Russian electrical grid. [34]
On 19 October 2020, the US justice department charged six Russian military officers of a worldwide hacking campaign, which attacked targets like French election, the 2018 Winter Olympic Games opening ceremony, US businesses and Ukraine's electricity grid. The campaign was believed to have cost billions of dollars for the mass disruption it caused. [35]
A series of powerful cyber attacks began 27 June 2017, that swamped websites of Ukrainian organizations, including banks, ministries, newspapers and electricity firms. In January 2022, Microsoft disclosed activity of a ransomware and DoS attack on various government agencies and organizations. [36] [37]
In 2019, Reuters reported that United Arab Emirates launched a series of cyberattacks on its political opponents, journalists, and human rights activists under Project Raven, on an espionage platform namely Karma. The team included ex-US intelligence agents. Project Raven commenced in 2009 and was planned to be continued for the coming ten years.
United Arab Emirates, used and asked for help from couple of countries providing their best calibres to overcome this crisis, and to confine the damage and consequences upon Project Raven, and indeed big names did participate to help like the American master, Graham Dexter, and the Egyptian phenomenal name in cybersecurity, Elhamy El Sebaey. [38]
In 2015. the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the Interior Department were hacked, resulting in data breaches of government and security records. Numerous reports claim that Chinese hackers conducted these attacks, as the Chinese government has used hackers to attack and target U.S. military networks the year prior. [39] [40] In 2024, cyber-tensions remain between the United States and the People's Republic of China, as accusations of hacking the U.S. government continue to arise. Reuters claims that cyber-espionage operations have been attacking the U.S. infrastructure, including the electric grid, water plants, oil and gas pipelines, and transportation, placing an increased focus on civilian attacks. Government officials have expressed concern about these attacks, relating them to bombings that have no economic or political gain whatsoever. [41] Though neither of the claims are confirmed by the Chinese government, U.S. officials continue to emphasize Chinese involvement in cyberattacks against their country.
During the 2016 presidential election, an indictment of 12 Russian military intelligence officers revealed that Russian hackers conducted an attack against the Clinton administration that targeted staff and campaign email addresses, following her opponent's, Donald Trump's, discernment of missing emails from Democratic servers on the same day as the attack. Robert S. Mueller, a special counsel of the United States government, claimed that the Russian government was also guilty to laundering money and stealing voter information. Furthermore, he investigated a possible conspiracy between the Russian government and Trump's possible attempt to sway the 2016 election. [42]
In 2023, the United States Government was able to identify and stop an organized attack on numerous computers throughout the states. This attack was taken out by Volt Typhoon, a Chinese hacking group who used its ability to access computers with lowered cyber security to try and infiltrate different American systems. [43] In April 2024, FBI Director Christopher Wray said Volt Typhoon's plan is to target the US civilian infrastructure through different cyber attacks in the future. [44] Wray warned that China is developing the "ability to physically wreak havoc on our critical infrastructure at a time of its choosing." [44]
In September 2024, under a court order, the FBI took control of a network of hundreds of thousands of internet routers and other devices that had been hacked by Chinese government-linked hackers who were using the massive web of hacked devices (known as botnet) to pose a threat to critical infrastructure both in the United States and abroad. [45]
Information warfare (IW) is the battlespace use and management of information and communication technology (ICT) in pursuit of a competitive advantage over an opponent. It is different from cyberwarfare that attacks computers, software, and command control systems. Information warfare is the manipulation of information trusted by a target without the target's awareness so that the target will make decisions against their interest but in the interest of the one conducting information warfare. As a result, it is not clear when information warfare begins, ends, and how strong or destructive it is.
Cyberterrorism is the use of the Internet to conduct violent acts that result in, or threaten, the loss of life or significant bodily harm, in order to achieve political or ideological gains through threat or intimidation. Emerging alongside the development of information technology, cyberterrorism involves acts of deliberate, large-scale disruption of computer networks, especially of personal computers attached to the Internet by means of tools such as computer viruses, computer worms, phishing, malicious software, hardware methods, and programming scripts can all be forms of internet terrorism. Some authors opt for a very narrow definition of cyberterrorism, relating to deployment by known terrorist organizations of disruption attacks against information systems for the primary purpose of creating alarm, panic, or physical disruption. Other authors prefer a broader definition, which includes cybercrime. Participating in a cyberattack affects the terror threat perception, even if it isn't done with a violent approach. By some definitions, it might be difficult to distinguish which instances of online activities are cyberterrorism or cybercrime.
Cyberwarfare is the use of cyber attacks against an enemy state, causing comparable harm to actual warfare and/or disrupting vital computer systems. Some intended outcomes could be espionage, sabotage, propaganda, manipulation or economic warfare.
The Health Service Executive (HSE) is the publicly funded healthcare system in Ireland, responsible for the provision of health and personal social services. It came into operation on 1 January 2005.
The Internet has a long history of turbulent relations, major maliciously designed disruptions, and other conflicts. This is a list of known and documented Internet, Usenet, virtual community and World Wide Web related conflicts, and of conflicts that touch on both offline and online worlds with possibly wider reaching implications.
A supply chain attack is a cyber-attack that seeks to damage an organization by targeting less secure elements in the supply chain. A supply chain attack can occur in any industry, from the financial sector, oil industry, to a government sector. A supply chain attack can happen in software or hardware. Cybercriminals typically tamper with the manufacturing or distribution of a product by installing malware or hardware-based spying components. Symantec's 2019 Internet Security Threat Report states that supply chain attacks increased by 78 percent in 2018.
Cyberwarfare by Russia includes denial of service attacks, hacker attacks, dissemination of disinformation and propaganda, participation of state-sponsored teams in political blogs, internet surveillance using SORM technology, persecution of cyber-dissidents and other active measures. According to investigative journalist Andrei Soldatov, some of these activities were coordinated by the Russian signals intelligence, which was part of the FSB and formerly a part of the 16th KGB department. An analysis by the Defense Intelligence Agency in 2017 outlines Russia's view of "Information Countermeasures" or IPb as "strategically decisive and critically important to control its domestic populace and influence adversary states", dividing 'Information Countermeasures' into two categories of "Informational-Technical" and "Informational-Psychological" groups. The former encompasses network operations relating to defense, attack, and exploitation and the latter to "attempts to change people's behavior or beliefs in favor of Russian governmental objectives."
An advanced persistent threat (APT) is a stealthy threat actor, typically a state or state-sponsored group, which gains unauthorized access to a computer network and remains undetected for an extended period. In recent times, the term may also refer to non-state-sponsored groups conducting large-scale targeted intrusions for specific goals.
Cyberwarfare is the use of computer technology to disrupt the activities of a state or organization, especially the deliberate attacking of information systems for strategic or military purposes. As a major developed economy, the United States is highly dependent on the Internet and therefore greatly exposed to cyber attacks. At the same time, the United States has substantial capabilities in both defense and power projection thanks to comparatively advanced technology and a large military budget. Cyberwarfare presents a growing threat to physical systems and infrastructures that are linked to the internet. Malicious hacking from domestic or foreign enemies remains a constant threat to the United States. In response to these growing threats, the United States has developed significant cyber capabilities.
Cyberwarfare by China is the aggregate of cyberattacks attributed to the organs of the People's Republic of China and various related advanced persistent threat (APT) groups.
Cyberwarfare is a part of the Iranian government's "soft war" military strategy. Being both a victim and wager of cyberwarfare, Iran is considered an emerging military power in the field. Since November 2010, an organization called "The Cyber Defense Command" has been operating in Iran under the supervision of the country's "Passive Civil Defense Organization" which is itself a subdivision of the Joint Staff of Iranian Armed Forces.
A series of powerful cyberattacks using the Petya malware began on 27 June 2017 that swamped websites of Ukrainian organizations, including banks, ministries, newspapers and electricity firms. Similar infections were reported in France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Russia, United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. ESET estimated on 28 June 2017 that 80% of all infections were in Ukraine, with Germany second hardest hit with about 9%. On 28 June 2017, the Ukrainian government stated that the attack was halted. On 30 June 2017, the Associated Press reported experts agreed that Petya was masquerading as ransomware, while it was actually designed to cause maximum damage, with Ukraine being the main target.
The city of Atlanta, Georgia was the subject of a ransomware attack which began in March 2018. The city recognized the attack on Thursday, March 22, 2018, and publicly acknowledged it was a ransomware attack.
On 14 May 2021, the Health Service Executive (HSE) of Ireland suffered a major ransomware cyberattack which caused all of its IT systems nationwide to be shut down.
Wizard Spider, also known as Trickbot, DEV-0193, UNC2053, or Periwinkle Tempest, was a cybercrime group based in and around Saint Petersburg in Russia. Some members may be based in Ukraine. They are estimated to number about 80, some of them may not know they are employed by a criminal organisation.
During the prelude to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, multiple cyberattacks against Ukraine were recorded, as well as some attacks on Russia. The first major cyberattack took place on 14 January 2022, and took down more than a dozen of Ukraine's government websites. According to Ukrainian officials, around 70 government websites, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Cabinet of Ministers, and the National and Defense Council (NSDC), were attacked. Most of the sites were restored within hours of the attack. On 15 February, another cyberattack took down multiple government and bank services.
The IT Army of Ukraine is a volunteer cyberwarfare organisation created at the end of February 2022 to fight against digital intrusion of Ukrainian information and cyberspace after the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. The group also conducts offensive cyberwarfare operations, and Chief of Head of State Special Communications Service of Ukraine Victor Zhora said its enlisted hackers would only attack military targets.
Important thinking about the tactical and legal concepts of cyber-warfare is taking place in a former Soviet barracks in Estonia, now home to NATO's "centre of excellence" for cyber-defence. It was established in response to what has become known as "Web War 1", a concerted denial-of-service attack on Estonian government, media and bank web servers that was precipitated by the decision to move a Soviet-era war memorial in central Tallinn in 2007.
